


Mischief and Madness

by The_Sad_Hatter



Series: The Mischief Verse [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adventures In Space, Blood and Gore, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki is complicated, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Compliant, Reader is an idiot savant, She's a smartass, and a dumbass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:41:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22187260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sad_Hatter/pseuds/The_Sad_Hatter
Summary: Living in New York has its ups and its downs. Upside - You have a cushy job at Stark Industries. Downside - You wind up getting yourself kidnapped by The God Of Mischief.All you wanted was a decent cup of coffee, now you’re stuck on the otherside of the universe with a sociopath who has only begrudgingly not murdered you.To get back home you’ll have to work with Loki, and probably stop trying to stab him.To regain his power, he’ll have to work with you, and probably stop trying to slaughter you.When Mischief and Madness collide, chaos ensues. Even if you survive this, the universe probably won’t…
Relationships: Loki/Reader
Series: The Mischief Verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1596415
Comments: 246
Kudos: 393





	1. Funky Town

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically an AU of Mischief, Meet Your Match. You don’t have to have read that one to read this one though. It's just the starting concept that is the same, Loki kidnaps reader. That's it, that's the concept 😂

Living in New York had its ups and downs. The rent was criminally high, but for the right price nobody would ask too many questions. There were overpriced hipster cafes on every corner where the barista would sneer pompously at you for ordering a simple coffee, but there were street vendors and authentic restaurants where you could try cuisine from corners of the world you’d never seen. Yes there were thieves and criminals lurking down alleyways, but there were aspiring artists everywhere you looked as well. She might try your patience and beat down your spirit every so often, but you loved New York. And while the city may never sleep, neither did you. Because there was one other downside to New York. The Superhero’s, specifically….

“Fucking STARK!” You screamed into your pillow, punching blindly at the mattress and imagining it was his annoying face.

You didn’t live that close to Stark Tower but you were evidently on the route the billionaire took to work because every morning you were roused by the loose window panes rattling as he zoomed past. You’d let it go the first time, shrugging it off as a one-time thing. By the second time you were annoyed. Third time and you’d snapped, hurtling out of your bed and climbing onto the window ledge to scream abuse at his receding figure.

“If you can fly, why don’t you fly in the fucking sky instead of past my window, you over-hyped coca cola can?”

“Someone got out of the wrong side of bed.” He teased over his shoulder, using some infuriating piece of tech to project his voice as he flew off, out of hearing range.

The fourth morning, you’d been waiting and as he flew past your window he’d been treated to a bucket of watery crazy glue and pink glitter being hurled at him. Fifth time he’d used a decoy suit to distract you while he pelted you with red and yellow paint filled water balloons. Sixth time you’d waited on the street and watched him fly overhead, using a self-designed system to set off a symphony of airhorns in your apartment, cackling as you saw him nearly fall out of the sky in fright. Seventh morning, you were served an eviction notice. Eighth morning, Stark bought the building and lowered your rent to a much more reasonable price.

Stretching your jaw in your best boa constrictor impression to yawn loudly you flipped the covers off and stumbled blindly to the window and prised it open. The upside to being on Iron Mans commute was waiting on your windowsill, like it had been since the day you’d signed your new rent agreement. Pulling the brown paper bag in through the window you rummaged through it, opting to grab the disposable coffee cup first, leaving the bagel for after your shower.

Yeah, living in New York had its ups and downs. You had a Superhero for an alarm clock, but at least he always brought you breakfast.

And with your new rent agreement, came perks. Or as Tony put it, assurance that you would be able to afford your rent. When he poked around your history and discovered you had minor computer skills, he offered you a job in Stark Industries. It was a well-paying job, but it came with co workers and you were not a people person, so you hacked his AI and changed your job title, giving yourself a fancy new lab while you were at it. When he realised what you’d done, he was so impressed you’d managed it that he said you’d earned the promotion. So now you had a rent controlled apartment, an awesome boss and a lab you only had to share with one other person. Luckily, the intern wasn’t full time and didn’t come in until 3:40pm.

You spent the day writing lines of code and fixing stray bugs, watching the clock. The highlight of your day was always when Peter arrived. Right on time you heard the elevator ding and swivelled around in your chair to grin enthusiastically at the door.

“Baby! There’s a baby in the lab!” You yelled dramatically.

Peter rolled his eyes so loudly you could almost hear it.

“Who’s child is this?” You demanded, looking around in concern.

“You’re not even that much older than me.” He huffed, shrugging his backpack off and letting it drop onto the ground with an unnaturally loud thud.

“I’m old enough to legally drink, you impertinent brat.” You informed him, leaning sideways to frown suspiciously at his backpack.

“And your liver knows it.” He sassed.

“Has nobody ever told you that children should be seen and not heard?” You asked coolly.

“I’m a rebel. Down with the status quo.” He shrugged, setting up his tablet.

“Aww, my little anarchist.” You cooed proudly, sliding your chair across the lab to the coffee machine.

“Pour me one? Please,” He begged. “And yes, I am old enough to drink caffeine.” He tacked on before you could crack the joke.

“Rough day at pre-school?” You prodded, obliging his request and pouring several sugar sachets into his cup for him.

“I have to write a 5000 word report on a story from the 1800’s, and we get extra marks for choosing a story nobody else chooses.” He sighed.

“Hmmm, published in the 1800’s or written in the 1800’s?” You asked.

“Um, ‘a work of fiction written during the 1800’s’.” He clarified, thumbing through the assignment and reading it aloud. 

“’The Haunted Ceiling’ by H.G Wells? Written in the 1890’s, published in 2016.” You offered, wheeling back across the lab and depositing his coffee on his desk as you slid by.

“That’s… yeah, that’s obscure. Thanks” He agreed, making a note of it.

“Ok, now less homework and more actual work please. I had to fix a few lines of coding in the software for the new Avengers issue StarkPads, but the battery is still acting up.” You informed him, swiping your screen to send him the pertinent files.

“It’s still freezing and dying when you open the Mission Files app?” He frowned.

“Like Jack when Rose wouldn’t share the door.” You confirmed.

“You’re right, you are old.” He snorted.

“I’m not old, you’re just a walking – talking - Rhianna impersonating foetus.” You berated.

“You said you wouldn’t mention that ever again!” He whined, betrayal in his eyes.

“No, I said I wouldn’t tell anybody else, not that I wouldn’t constantly remind you about it.” You grinned smugly.

You had promised not to tell anyone that you’d caught Peter in the lab, dancing his tweeny butt off. But you hadn’t said you wouldn’t send the footage of his enthusiastic and flawlessly executed dance routine to anyone else. You were saving that file for a rainy day .

“Sleeping Beauty, Boss wants to see you.” Friday informed, her crisp tone filtering through the lab.

“On it… Work on the battery and then we can hopefully show our tech babies to Stark.” You instructed Peter, ruffling his hair and you walked past him and out of the lab.

“Friday, send out Little Lamb Alert.” You muttered under your breath as the elevator doors glided open.

“Would the parents of a five year old boy called Peter please report to Human Resources?” Friday announced, her voice being broadcast on every floor of the tower.

“Aww come on!” Peter yelled as the elevator doors closed, cutting off your loud cackling.

“Did you hack Friday just to wind up the kid?” Tony asked as soon as the elevator doors reopened, now on the R&D floors.

“Yip.” You confirmed, sprawling yourself across a lab bench.

“Nicely done.” He commended, tossing you a freeze dried strawberry for your efforts and snorting when you caught it in your mouth like a trained seal. 

“What do you want, oh mighty Iron God?” You mumbled, crunching the fruit.

“Did your bagel taste different this morning?” He asked casually.

“No. Why? What did you do? Did you drug me again?” You snapped.

“No, it’s from a new place that’s all. Again?” He frowned.

“Dr Banner told me you were slipping me Vitamins.”

“If you don’t take them like you’re supposed to, you get slipped them like a disobedient puppy.” He reprimanded.

“Did you just infer that I am a naughty bitch?” You smirked, glossing over his bad habit of parenting you.

“See, this is why Pepper won’t let you attend board meetings anymore. You’re not safe to be let out in public.” He said, waving his finger admonishingly.

“You’re no fun. So did you make me come all the way up here just to ask if I enjoyed my bagel?”

“Hey, I am lots of fun. Why else would I call you up here while it’s unguarded?” He asked sagely, putting his hands on your shoulders and using his grip to steer you around so you were looking at…

“Nooooo! Is that? Could it be?” You gasped.

“You’re welcome toots.” He sniggered as you hopped off the bench and sprinted across the lab, stopping in front of the once mythical weapon.

“Myin, moll… Mion… Thor’s Hammer!” You whispered reverently.

“Mjolnir.” Tony said smugly, taunting you.

“She’s beautiful.” You said softly, tracing the lines of the handle.

Maybe it was your imagination, or your own pulse, but you could feel the power humming from it, pulsating like a drumbeat. It was probably rude, but what Thor didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and you couldn’t have stopped yourself if you wanted to. Wrapping your fingers around the handle firmly, you took a deep breath, letting the deep cloying sense of fate and power surround you. In an almost trancelike state you lifted your arm, raising the hammer into the air.

Or attempted to anyway. What actually happened was the hammer didn’t budge a single millimetre and you nearly dislocated your shoulder in your overconfidence.

“Motherfucker!” You cursed, pouting at Tony, who wasn’t even looking at you.

“Hey! My destiny could be unfolding over here and you’re spray painting a helmet!” You bitched.

“Yeah, I’m not worried about missing anything.” He snorted.

“I could be worthy!”

“Of course. The girl who cheated at Secret Santa so she could buy Parker an Easy bake Oven is going to be worthy of ruling Asgard.” He pointed out.

“I got him and his little friends tickets to Comic Con as well. I’m cheeky, not cruel.” You muttered, using both hands to try and get the hammer to budge.

“Tickets that you hacked the system to buy.” He rebutted.

“I still paid full price, didn’t I? Yes, so shush, you’re turning her against me.” You hissed, covering (where you assumed) the hammers ears were.

You spent at least another ten minutes huffing and groaning while trying to get the hammer to budge, but if anything it felt like it was getting heavier. When the opening notes of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ started thrumming through the lab you raised your middle finger in Tony’s general direction while you huffed to catch your breath. You didn’t give up though, contorting yourself into strange positions in an effort to lift the hammer. At one point you sighed heavily and stomped away, turning back and diving for it, hoping a sneak attack would provide a measure of success.

It didn’t.

Neither did bribery, because apparently hammers didn’t crave stock shares. You even resorted to tickling the hammer, as if that could possibly work. You were considering a blood sacrifice when you heard the elevator doors open and looked up at Tony in alarm.

“Times up Princess.” He said with mock sympathy as the burly figure of Thor lumbered into the lab.

He barely paid your obviously fake casualness any attention, eyes glossing over you as they landed on Tony.

“Stark. Strange said that he helped you create a device of sorts that can temporarily negate magic? There’s a sorceress on Asgard making a nuisance of herself, might I borrow it?” The Thunder God enquired.

“The Muggle Maker? Ask Princess, it was her brain child.” Tony shrugged, pointing at you.

“I helped, it was mostly Banner and Parker, they just needed something to take energy readings and identify magical ripples in the area. I made the chip, they did the tech.” You argued.

“Using technology to identify and negate magic, even temporarily, is no easy feat, do not be modest.” Thor grinned.

You weren’t exactly a stranger to most of The Avengers. Bucky and Steve had carried your couch up thirty flights of stairs because it wouldn’t fit in the elevator (neither of them understood why you kept yelling ‘PIVOT’ at them). Natasha kept leaving daggers and cans of mace in your desk, like a really violent cat bringing gifts. Sam kidnapped you at least three times a week and made you jog with him. Vision spent hours upon hours in your lab, silently watching you and throwing out helpful advice when you got frustrated. Some of them were borderline friends, some just acquaintances, but Thor? You barely knew the Asgardian Prince. You’d met him in passing a handful of times, and while he was friendly enough, he wasn’t exactly on your Christmas card list.

“Alright, I am a genius, bow before me.” You smirked.

He frowned, unsure if you were serious. You rolled your eyes at his unsurity and went rummaging around the lab until you found the case where the Muggle Maker was kept.

“It’s not foolproof, you have about thirty seconds once you turn it on so move quickly.” You warned, passing him the case.

“Understood. Thank you, my lady.” He said gratefully, throwing you a dazzling smile as he took it and turned to leave.

“Forgetting something? Your hammer?” Tony called after him.

Thor turned around and gazed thoughtfully at the hammer on the floor.

“And rob your young friend of her valiant attempts to lift it?” He chuckled, eyeing you knowingly.

“I… wasn’t. It’s just a hammer, I don’t even care, like whatever.” You shrugged.

“Have at it my lady, Mjolnir appreciates stubbornness above all else, you may yet succeed.” He advised, turning his back on you and the hammer.

“She’s not going to be able to lift it, she’s pure evil. Take it before Banner trips over it again.” Tony scoffed.

Thor stopped and looked back, sighing heavily before he trudged back over and reached for the hammer.

“Pity, it almost worked.” He muttered.

You thought he was talking to you, but when he reached past the hammer and wrapped his fingers around your throat instead and you realised he was talking to himself. There was no time to do anything, no way of escaping the vice like grip on your windpipe. One second you were standing talking to Thor, and the next he was lifting you into the air by the neck, a sparkling green wave rippling over him and unmasking your true assailant. Green eyes that glittered with malice captured your gaze while you clawed futilely at the ice cold fingers choking the life out of you.

“Loki! Put her down!” Tony commanded.

You were a bit preoccupied with trying to breathe but you could see the gauntlet Tony had aimed at your attacker and hear the alarm blasting through the tower. You had a second to hope that Peter didn’t hear it and come up here to investigate and then you were yanked forward and the hold on your throat loosened.

“I don’t think that’s Thor.” You croaked painfully while Loki wrangled you in front of him and replaced his hand on your throat with a dagger, the movements so swift and smooth that Tony couldn’t find an opening to fire a blast at him.

“Pity that neither of you came to that realization in time. Move aside Stark, or see your pretty little friend bleed.” Loki sneered.

There was a beat of silence while you exchanged a bewildered look with Tony.

“You think I’m pretty?” You asked the god at your back, carefully craning your neck to peer at him, mindful of the wickedly sharp blade against your skin.

“Yeah, he said pretty. Looks like you’ve got an admirer, Princess.” Tony agreed, both of you falling back on humour to drown out the fear.

If you could just stall long enough then back-up would arrive, hopefully in the form of the real Thor.

“Pretty enough for a mortal, not pretty enough to distract me while your would be rescuers race to save you.” Loki hissed viciously in your ear, slowly moving towards the glass doors on the other side of the lab and moving you with him.

“Rescue me from what? This is already going better than most of my other first dates.” You wisecracked, immediately regretting it as the blade was pressed tighter against your throat.

“I gotta ask, what exactly are your intentions with my employee?” Tony added, moving in tandem with Loki, keeping you in his direct line of sight.

“That is entirely up to you. I could slash her throat open with a flick of my wrist and let you watch her bleed to death, or I could release her once we have left.” Loki suggested amicably.

Your heart stuttered noticeably in your chest as your imagination helpfully supplied you with a vision of yourself lying on the ground like a broken toy, crimson blood pooling across the floor.

“Or you could kill me as soon as you’re free and clear anyway.” You said lowly, eyeing Tony meaningfully.

You could tell by the tightness in his jaw he knew what you were trying to tell him. If you were going to die anyway, don’t let it be in vain. It wasn’t heroic or selfless on your part, you just didn’t want your killer to get away. You wanted him to suffer. You knew that Tony would do everything in his power to save you, you didn’t doubt him, but you also knew he didn’t trust Loki to let you go. But he was a hero, and he wouldn’t endanger you, so you took the choice away from him.

“Friday, engage Vatican Cameos!” You said in a rush, the words squashed together in your haste.

Tony’s pupils blew up and what little colour remained in his face drained away as he realised what you’d just done.

“Building lockdown initiated.” Friday announced.

The whole building vibrated around you as every door and window in the tower was sealed from the outside, the Stark tech doing it’s job and sealing everyone inside.

“No!” Loki snarled, realising what you had done.

In your defence, it was a great plan, provided you didn’t mind dying. Which, yeah you minded, but at least you got to go out while being as inconvenient as possible. You closed your eyes and winced, waiting for the sharp pain of a dagger slicing your throat open.

There was plenty of pain, but not in your throat. An ear-splitting crash screeched through your skull and sharp pinpricks of pain bit at your arms. A cold gust of wind washed over your skin and you tore your eyes open in time to see Tony hurtling towards you with frenzied desperation, just before the metal shield slammed over the windows, sealing the tower. The problem was, you weren’t sealed in like you’d intended, you were sealed outside with Loki, who had hurled you and himself through the glass doors at the last second.

Glass from the broken window crunched under his boots as he dragged you across the balcony and shoved you away from him.

“Alone at last?” You winced, rubbing your throat and looking up at his cold eyes with dread.

“That was brave, but oh so foolish. I want you to know that I would have kept my word, I would have released you once I had escaped. You could have had mercy, pretty little mortal.” He told you, his features twisted up with something akin to regret as he looked down at the ground.

“It was an accident? I was trying to open the doors for you?” You offered weakly.

“Ah, I see. Well then fear not, I still have one final use for you, one last chance to serve me.” He informed, the corners of his lips curling up sinisterly.

You didn’t have a chance to ask what it was, all the creative ways you had thought of to tell him to go fuck himself went to waste. Without a shred of hesitation he grabbed a fistful of your shirt and raised you into the air, throwing you off the edge of the balcony and letting you fall to your death. 


	2. I think We're Alone Now

As you plummeted toward the ground you screamed, unashamedly. If you were going to die you were going to do it like you’d lived. Loudly, and without a shred of dignity. Only, you didn’t die, a red blur slammed into you and suddenly you were rising through the air instead of freefalling.

“Hold on!” An unnaturally deep and unfamiliar voice commanded, making you look up at them in surprise.

“Spiderman?” You screeched, wrapping your arms around your saviour and holding on for dear life as he swung you away from the tower.

“I’ve got you… ma’am, miss, uh.. lady.” He stammered, bringing you to the ground.

“Thank you, thank you.” You gasped, putting your hands on your knees and panting to catch your breath.

“Are you alright? You’re bleeding!” He pointed out, his absurdly and clearly fake deep voice filled with worry.

You held your hand over your chest, trying to keep your heart from doing a cartoon leap out of it. You’d done plenty of stupid shit in your life, been in more than one sticky situation, but that was the closest brush with death you’d ever experienced. You did not enjoy it.

“I’m fine, just a few scratches, Loki threw me out of a window. Do me a favour, go garrotte the lanky bitch.” You snarled, glaring up at the tower.

Spiderman saluted you and shot a web into the sky, swinging away, back towards the fight. You could hear the distant sounds of crashing and banging, guessing it meant that The Avengers were trying to fight their way out of the tower. The Tower you had trapped them in.

“God damn it!” You hissed, sprinting down the street and back towards the tower.

You literally had to shove your way through the crowds of people who had gathered at the foot of The Avengers tower, gaping and chattering away, phones out and filming.

“PEOPLE! The tower is clearly under attack, stop standing at the bottom of it!” You yelled, finally breaking through the crowd and putting your hands on your hips as you started them down.

You looked like a cross substitute teacher, and they paid about as much attention to you as they would if that’s what you were. You gave up, deciding if anyone got hurt then it wasn’t on your conscience. Studying the thick metal covering the doors you tried to work out how to get back inside. You could easily do it with Fridays help, but your tablet and phone were both locked inside the building you were trying to get into.

“Hey, I need to borrow this.” You announced, snatching a cell phone out of a young mans hand.

“Hey, what the hell?” He snapped.

“FBI, Sir I need your phone.” You muttered, finding the tower Wi-Fi and using it to find a backdoor into the security system.

“Yeah, where’s your badge?” He scoffed.

“I am undercover. What kind of undercover agent carries a badge? A dead one, that’s what kind. You’ll get it back, actually, even better you can have a new StarkPhone.” You told him distractedly, fighting your way through Tony and Fridays defences.

It was taking to long so you directed your attack directly at the door in front of you, finally raising the metal shield high enough to crawl under it and through the door, ignoring the owner of the phone yelling at you as you did. As soon as you were inside the lobby, Friday found you, opening the elevator as you raced towards it.

“Thor has breached the balcony, Loki is now in direct conflict with The Avengers.” She informed, closing the elevator doors before you before you could even ask.

“Where’s the kid, is he still in the lab?” You demanded, using the pilfered phone to race through lines of code, searching for something, it was going smoother now that Friday was helping you.

“Peter Parker is not inside the tower.” She assured.

He must have left before shit started going down and you breathed a massive sigh of relief.

“Thank god.” You muttered.

The elevator stopped on the floor the fight was on, but the doors didn’t open. You could still hear the battle though. Ignoring it, you focused on the phone in your hand.

“Friday I need eyes. Show me Loki.” You begged frantically.

“I do not have eyes on Loki.” She admitted.

“Then show me… Life scans!”

The phone screen flickered and showed you the layout of the lab, several life signatures moving around it. You just needed to figure out which one was Loki’s.

“Open the doors.” You prompted.

“Is that wise?” She questioned, quite a lot of concern in her tone considering she was an AI.

“Nope, Do it anyway.” You snorted.

“Princess…”

“I have a plan, Friday.” You assured, accessing a program in her systems that you had designed and subtly hidden.

“That protocol is untested.” She warned you.

“Then lets test it.”

The doors slid open and for a few seconds your brain scrambled to make sense of the chaos. Friday didn’t have eyes on Loki, because Loki was _everywhere_. Dozens of him appeared and reappeared, leading the Avengers everywhere. Most of the team was absent, but a few of them had been in the tower today and Thor’s Hammer, Steve’s Shield, Natasha’s knives and Tony’s repulsor blasts were dancing across the room, slicing through Loki’s illusions. You peered out of the doors carefully, narrowly avoiding being hit with a line of web fluid. You could see them all, and see them on the screen, but there was one life sign unaccounted for. The spot on the balcony that was flickering on the screen was just out of your line of sight.

Either Loki was hiding there, or you were about to piss of an Avenger.

“Cast The Net.” You instructed.

The electrical systems in the tower kicked in, power being diverted to the one spot you had directed them to. For a moment. Nothing happened, but then several of Loki’s illusions stopped moving and turned to look at you in tandem before they disappeared. You raced out of the elevator and skidded onto the balcony, letting out an exhilarated cry of excitement when you saw him standing there.

“Yes! Gotcha, fucking gotcha! How do you like me now, bitch?” You screeched, fist pumping the air. 

“Princess? Get out of here, it’s not safe!” Tony hollered, relief about your being alive overshadowed with worry you wouldn’t remain that way.

“Oh, it’s plenty safe.” You announced smugly, putting your hands on your hips and grinning like a maniac.

One by one they cottoned on to the fact that Loki was just standing there glowering at you.

“What did you do?” Thor, the real Thor, demanded suspiciously.

“He’s trapped. Like a rat in a… a trap. I’ll work on my catchphrases. Point is, he’s going nowhere because I trapped his ass in a holo cell. Mic Drop.” You cackled, dropping the phone like a mic.

“Oh shit no, that’s not my phone, I mugged someone for it.” You winced, catching it before it hit the ground.

“You mugged someone?” Steve asked, sounding a lot more amused than you would have assumed.

“Irrelevant.” You muttered.

“Holo cell?” Tony demanded.

“I’ve been adding shadow security protocols to Friday for months now, sorry Tony, and one of them paid off. There’s a benign forcefield around the whole tower, when activated it can create a holo cell around a specified area. Friday found him though, I had nothing to do with that.” 

“ _You_ …” Loki snarled, taking a step towards you.

The area around rippled and he was forced to a stop, the cell becoming visible as it was disturbed. Loki was encased in a spherical tube that shimmered when he touched it.

“You will not be able to hold me here forever.” Loki hissed, trying to kill you with a look.

“How long will it hold?” Steve asked sharply.

“As long as the Tower has power, so theoretically… forever.” You smirked giddily, tossing the phone at Tony so he could see for himself what you’d done and check your work.

“How dare you, I am a god and you are,” Loki started to say.

“How dare I? You yeeted me off of a fucking building!” You interrupted.

One of Loki’s doppelgängers materialized in front of you and you let out a high pitched yip, jumping backwards and diving behind Tony.

“Feeling brave there, toots?” Tony snorted.

“His illusions can not harm you.” Thor assured you, stepping into the space you’d vacated to face his brother.

“Loki… I thought you dead.” Thor said, almost softly.

“Ew, emotions.” You muttered under your breath, wrinkling your nose and scurrying inside so you didn’t have to bear witness to the tense reunion.

“Hey.” Natasha called out, following you.

You glanced back at her, only mildly afraid.

“Well done.” She said seriously, nodding at you.

“She’s right, you did good.” Steve agreed as the rest of the assorted team left Thor alone with his brother.

“Well, she is a genius.” Spiderman added proudly, in a strangely familiar voice.

“How do you know I’m a…. wait….” You frowned.

He seemed to realise his mistake and even through the mask you could see him wince.

“No! No way! What? SpiderMAN? Man? Really? What? Man?” You screeched, realising where you knew that voice from, how he knew that you were a genius.

Friday had said that Peter Parker wasn’t in the building, because he was _swinging around outside of it._

Steve and Natasha wandered away, looking highly amused as Peter tentatively pulled off his mask.

“I’m… Yeah, I’m Spiderman.” He whispered.

You crossed the room and yanked him into a hug, throwing your arms around his shoulders.

“You saved my life, kid. Thank you.” You said softly as he hugged you back.

“I put on the suit when the alarms went off and Friday told me you were on the balcony with Loki, so I broke out to get to you.” He explained, shrugging it off like it was no big deal.

“Ew, emotions.” Tony mocked.

You pulled away from Peter and glared at Tony, sparing a glance for Thor on the balcony who did not look happy.

“Hey, this? Impressive. How many shadow protocols have you slipped into Friday?” Tony asked, waving the phone at you to get your attention.

“Not many. Three?” You guessed.

He stared blankly at you until you cracked.

“Three dozen.” You admitted.

“Alright we’re going to talk about that. We’re also going to talk about you trying to sacrifice yourself,” He asserted, before turning to Peter. “We’re also going to talk about you trying to take Loki on alone.” He said, mustering up his authority and glaring at you both.

“You tried to take Loki on alone?” You gasped, punching Peter in the shoulder.

“I had to stop him getting loose Mr Stark!” Peter protested.

“Same! We were helping. We helped.” You added.

“Both of you downstairs, come on. You’re both bleeding.” Tony ordered, shepherding you both into the elevator and ignoring your protests.

Before the elevator doors closed you looked back out to the balcony, and even though you couldn’t see Loki, a shiver ran down your spine. It didn’t dissipate until the elevator doors closed.

~~~Some Time Later~~~

When darkness fell over the city The Avengers were all congregated on the higher floors of the tower, the rest of the team having arrived from the Upstate compound to decide how best to deal with Loki. The only one missing was Thor, who had uncovered some disturbing information from Loki. Apparently since his ‘death’ Loki had actually been masquerading as his father, the King of Asgard. Thor had returned home to see the extent of the damage and put a stop to any of Loki’s plots. You presumed he was also going to find and reinstate his dad but you weren’t sure.

You were busy lying spread eagle on the floor of your lab, alone, in darkness, feeling ambivalent. The adrenaline had worn off sometime during Tony’s half lecture half appraisal, and left you feeling drained, deep in thought and sore. You could have gone home, you _should_ have gone home, but something was keeping you at the tower. Some niggling feeling in your gut that prevented you from going back to your apartment and left you on the floor with nothing to do. Eventually you stiffly pulled yourself to your feet and ambled over to the coffee machine, staring blankly at it before you turned around and headed for the elevator instead.

Some people might call you a coffee snob but the one thing you couldn’t abide was a subpar cup of the stuff. Truth be told, for most of your life you hadn’t really had strong feelings about coffee either way. But just over a year ago, a bad cup of coffee had changed your whole life. You liked the good stuff now, as a reminder of where you were in life. Bad memories and bad coffee couldn’t hurt you anymore. Besides, after the day you’d had, you deserved it. Tony kept you pretty well stocked in caffeine, but the particular blend you wanted was in his lad. He didn’t even drink it, he just knew you only drank it when you were feeling down, and so he put it somewhere he could monitor. Tiptoeing into his lab you were relieved to find it empty, the normally bright lights off and the only light coming from blinking machines. It cast an eerie glow over the room but it was a peaceful kind of spooky, a serene one. 

You knew Loki was close by, right out there on the balcony where you’d left him, but his proximity didn’t frighten you. He was locked up tight in an impenetrable cell that only you, Dr Banner or Tony had the ability to power down. Nobody else could even access this floor unless they were an Avenger. Or you, but that was less about permission and more about not being able to keep you out, besides your performance today had left you with more trust that you should have from the heroes.

It was mildly silly, but you were worried about leaving him on the balcony. The heating vents and cell would keep out the rain and cold, but you didn’t just want to leave him standing there until The Avengers decided what to do with him. He might not be human but you were, and you couldn’t hold him indefinitely in inhumane conditions. He cocked his head curiously when you dragged a chair onto the balcony and sat it in front of his cell, avoiding looking directly at him. He didn’t say anything as you lightly tread back inside and pottered around the lab, emerging again with your hands full, setting a polystyrene cup of coffee, a textbook on human psychology and a handful of candy bars onto the chair. When he figured out what you were doing his mouth twisted into a derisive sneer and you rolled your eyes at his ingratitude, not that you’d expected any different.

“We don’t know how long Thor will be, or when you’ll be moved, if at all, so you might end up wanting to sit at some point.” You grumbled, pulling your own phone from your pocket and swiping at it.

The cell shimmered briefly and expanded, crackling over the chair until everything you’d brought for him was inside the now larger perimeter of his cell.

“For a moment there, this cell was useless. Thought you might like to know.” You smirked as the forcefield powered up again.

He still didn’t say anything, just glared briefly in your direction. You sighed and decided you’d satisfied the tiny shred of kindness you possessed, turning your back on him and walking back inside when he finally spoke, his voice drifting over you.

“You didn’t come out here to give me these paltry gifts of sustenance. There’s something you want to say to me, something you didn’t say in front of your heroes.”

You stopped in your tracks and sighed again, because he was right. There was something that had been prickling at you all evening.

“You didn’t throw me off the balcony to kill me, you did it to distract Spiderman.” You whispered.

It wasn’t a question or an accusation, just a statement of fact. You’d replayed it over and over in your mind, picking apart the way his gaze had narrowed, the words he said about serving a purpose, and there was no doubt in your mind.

“And if that were true, would it be redemption for me?” He asked scornfully.

“The opposite. At least if you’d been trying to kill me, if there were intent, it wouldn’t be meaningless. You didn’t care if I lived or died, I was just a human shaped distraction to you. That’s so much worse.” You told him, turning around to look at him.

“Very well. It’s true, your life was of little concern to me. I disregarded you and you rose up to defeat me anyway. Is there a lesson I should learn from it? Should I re-evaluate my opinion of your kind because you got lucky?” He mocked, eyes glittering with disdain. 

“I think you’ll find I got Loki, actually. And I don’t care about educating you, or redeeming you.” You scoffed, approaching the very edge of the cell until you were stood right in front of him.

“Then why does it matter so much to you?” He whispered, lip curling mockingly at you.

“It matters because if you ever try to kill me again, it will be because of this,” You told him, waving at the invisible cell. “Because I beat you and it wasn’t on a battlefield. I outsmarted you. Even if it was just for one moment, I was better than you. Don’t ever forget that.” You taunted him.

His eyes darted rapidly across your face, drinking in every facet of your expression, reading every minute tell and then he grinned, widely and triumphantly.

“And there is your greatest fear, laid bare. You can’t stand the thought that your death will be as meaningless and unimportant as your life. The genius in a tower of people smarter than her, brushing shoulders with champions and knowing she will never be one, surrounded by greatness but unable to achieve it herself. You hate that you are insignificant, that you will never rise above the mediocrity that is so prevalent in your race. How you lived will not be remembered so you seek to die as my equal, instead of as my victim, in the hope that it will mean you are remembered at all.” He chuckled spitefully.

The memory of bad coffee ghosted across your tongue, the acrid reminder of your lowest moment. Unwittingly you swallowed thickly, trying to clear the bitter taste from your mouth. He crossed his arms behind his back and smoothed his expression until he was looking at you almost peacefully.

“Your ego, as large and fragile as it is, may be satisfied. You did beat me, however temporarily. As soon as I threw you over the edge I ceased to consider you. Even if I had thought about you, I never would have expected you to climb back up the tower, let alone capture me. You were foolish but you were brave, and oh so clever. I will live far longer than generations of your kind will and I will remember how you bested me. I will remember you.” He promised, and you honestly couldn’t tell if he was congratulating or warning you.

“Seems I’m not just a pretty face after all.” You teased before you could think it through.

“So it would seem.” He agreed, the corners of his lips curling upwards in gentle amusement.

The sky above the tower lit up briefly and Loki’s expression soured.

“It seem my brother has returned.” He noted with a disparaging sigh.

“I should go.” You realised.

You shouldn’t really have been here in the first place and you knew if Tony caught you he wouldn’t be pleased. He’d deemed the cell a safe holding spot for Loki but that didn’t mean he’d want you risking it.

“Goodnight, _Vænn_.” Loki called after you as you rushed back through the lab, swiping your coffee cup as you went.

You didn’t know what he’d called you and you were relatively sure you didn’t want to know. You waited for the elevator doors to open, rearranging your expression into one of innocence when they did.

“What are you doing?” Natasha asked, smirking at having caught you out.

“Tony keeps the good coffee up here and Gods be damned, I want my caffeine.” You explained, holding up the mug to corroborate your story.

“Uh huh. Thor’s back from Asgard.” She informed you.

“Yeah, saw his light show.” You snorted.

“They’ll be waiting for us, come on.” She prompted, making you frown.

“Us? You want me, to come up, upstairs, with you?” You stammered.

She responded by arching her eyebrow and giving you a patient look.

“But I’m not an Avenger, why would I be there?” You asked, getting into the elevator her with her despite your confusion.

She looked at over at you, her eyes alight with amusement despite her patient expression.

“You caught Loki. Today Printsessa, you’re an Avenger.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, can you tell that I know bugger all about computer programming or coding. A genius, I am not. If I get anything wrong, chalk it up to multiverse science and not that I am a moron, ok? (or just educate me, that works too) 
> 
> But all that aside, did you enjoy chapter two??? Did you????? 
> 
> P.S - If you don’t already know what Loki called her, you could google it, or you could wait to find out when she does 😂If you DO know, don’t tell anyone!


	3. Under Pressure

As soon as the doors opened Natasha sauntered out of the elevator, leaving you to trail after her. The first person to notice and acknowledge you was Vision, who drifted over and held his fist out to you.

“I have garnered from watching the interactions of the team that when a friend is victorious it is customary to offer them your fist so that they may bump it.” He explained, pleased with himself.

You shifted your coffee to your non-dominant hand and accepted the proffered fist bump, cooing under your breath at his adorableness.

“There she is, my favourite lil genius!” Sam crowed loudly, jogging over to sling his arm around your shoulders.

“Excuse me? Is she the genius who pays for everything?” Tony squawked, offended.

“Shush, let me have my moment.” You scolded.

“You did very well today.” Wanda said softly, and you had to look around for a moment before you spotted her on the couch, sandwiched between Clint and Steve.

“Yeah, I had Friday pull the footage so I can watch it on repeat.” Clint sniggered ecstatically as Sam swept you over to the seating area.

Something cold touched your wrist and you looked down at Bucky who was splayed across an armchair. He didn’t say anything, just caught your eye and gave you a firm nod of approval.

“What kind of coffee is that?” Tony demanded, snatching the cup from your hand and taking a sip.

“Gimme a break, I took an impromptu and unwilling flying lesson today.” You scoffed, snatching it back.

“But I caught you!” Peter exclaimed, wiggling in his seat like a proud puppy who’d successfully performed a trick.

“Yes, yes you did. Three cheers for Spider _infant_!” You scoffed, letting Sam push you onto the couch next to Steve.

“I agree, congratulations are in order for the young ones and their part in todays battle. Were this Asgard, we would feast for days to honour them.”

“Let’s go to Asgard then.” You stage whispered to Peter. 

“Alas, I have just returned from Asgard and I have much news.” Thor admitted heavily.

“Lay it on us, how much did Loki screw up Asgard?” Tony asked.

“While masquerading as my father Loki ruled Asgard fairly and justly. He built monuments to himself of course but the people did not seem to mind. I suspect many of them knew it was Loki in disguise but choose to continue the charade. Indeed, Asgard is peaceful and prosperous.” Thor admitted, befuddled.

“Huh. How about that? The would be King was actually fit for the job. Maybe we should have just given Loki the planet.” You sniggered.

“Joking. Obviously.” You quickly added when you were subjected to numerous hard stares.

“So what’s the bad news?” Steve asked, getting back on track.

“The Enchantress Amora began causing havoc in Asgard, that is why Loki came here to find a weapon to stop her. She has been captured, though only barely. I believed Loki was acting in Asgards best interest until we went to the Vaults and the tesseract disappeared.”

“Loki has the Tesseract?” Steve asked sharply.

“I do not know. The Tesseract _was_ in the vault. It disappeared before our very eyes and we know not where it has gone.”

“Friday, where’s Loki?” Tony snapped out quickly.

“He is on the balcony reading about childhood trauma and the effects it can have in later life.” Friday responded.

“Who gave Loki a book?” Steve sighed.

You sunk down in your seat guiltily, refusing to meet Natasha’s eye.

“I did. Thought he might learn something.” The redheaded Russian said blithely, covering for you.

You put your hand up nervously.

“You can go to the bathroom, you don’t need to ask.” Clint whispered, shaking his head slightly at you.

“Good to know, but… What do you mean The Tesseract disappeared. In all the years it was studied on Earth it never acted on it’s own. Someone had to have taken it, somehow. There’s only one person we know of who can do anything similar to that, and he knew where it was. It had to have been Loki.” You suggested.

“Agreed. Friday, up the security on Loki and around the tower.” Tony instructed, taking your suggestion seriously.

“I will guard Loki personally.” Thor said sagely, picking up his hammer.

He didn’t really wait for an agreement, just stomped out onto the landing and stepped over the edge.

“Love that guy. Knows how to make an entrance _and_ an exit.” You snorted.

“You’ll get used to it.” Steve assured, patting your shoulder.

“Will I? Because as fun as today has been, I don’t really see myself hanging out with you in much of an Avenging capacity. Feel free to invite me to Pizza Parties though! And by feel free, I mean do it or I’ll subscribe you to every penis enlargement scam on the net.” You warned.

“You wanna tell her?” Steve asked Tony.

You looked between them, teetering between curious excitement and nervous fear.

“Tell me what? Tell meeeeeeeeee!” You demanded.

“Wanna hang out with us in an Avenging capacity? Pizza parties included.” Tony asked giddily, looking quite proud of himself.

“All of our scientific minds are also out on the front, fighting. We think it would be beneficial if we had people working full time on tech, communications, weaponry etc… People we can trust. We already know you, we like you, we trust you and you’ve more than proven how capable you are.” Steve added.

Proud of you, Tony was proud of you, not himself. You were being extended a coveted invitation to…

“So you want me to be your ‘Q’?” You clarified.

“Yes.” Steve agreed, rolling his eyes when you and Tony gaped at him in surprise.

“I’ve seen James Bond.” He said flatly.

“We’re offering you a job Princess. We want you to move into the compound upstate and work for The Avengers full time. You wouldn’t be in the public eye so you would be safe, and yes you will have your own lab. All the toys and funding you want.” Tony explained.

“Barnes and I have worked out a training schedule for you, not that we’re expecting you to go on missions.” Natasha added, smiling over at you smugly.

“We picked you out a room next to mine.” Wanda said excitedly.

“I stopped Tony from making your room pink, but I couldn’t talk him out of the Canopy bed.” Sam snorted.

“That beds awesome. If you don’t want it, I’ll have it!” Clint offered enthusiastically.

“Banners at the compound now, setting up your lab equipment.” Steve added, explain the Doctors absence from the meeting.

“Wait, you’re taking her upstate?” Peter piped up, near pouting.

“Relax kid, we’re not locking her up, she’s not going from Sleeping Beauty to Rapunzel. You can still have playdates.” Tony assured.

Throughout all the excitement you had remained uncharacteristically silent, something that started to dawn on everyone.

“Uh, I… My coffee is cold. I’m going to make a fresh one.” You muttered, getting stiffly to your feet.

“Princess?”

“Just give me a minute, please. I’ll be back.” You said briskly, high-tailing it towards the elevator.

“Well done guys, you scared her off.” Sam grouched as you slipped into the elevator, trying not to hyper-ventilate.

It was a more than generous offer, it was a dream come true. But you couldn’t help but wander back to your lab in a daze, trying to untie the knot in your stomach. This was literally the biggest thing to ever happen to you, being invited to work with Earth’s Mightiest. You’d have access to resources and tech beyond your imagination, you could work directly with Tony and Banner not just for them. You could have a hand in saving the world, changing it, improving and saving lives.

So why were you sat on a chair with your head in your hands and trying not to cry?

“Princess, your heart rate is elevated and you are showing signs of distress. Is everything ok?” Friday asked, her volume lower than it normally was.

_“And there is your greatest fear, laid bare. You can’t stand the thought that your death will be as meaningless and unimportant as your life.”_

“I’m fine Friday.” You answered numbly.

_“The genius in a tower of people smarter than her, brushing shoulders with champions and knowing she will never be one, surrounded by greatness but unable to achieve it herself.”_

“Should I inform Mr Stark you need him?” She prodded.

_“You hate that you are insignificant, that you will never rise above the mediocrity that is so prevalent in your race.”_

“No. I don’t need Tony. I don’t need anyone.” You replied coldly.

You knew what was wrong now. You were _scared_. Scared that you’d have the chance to be something more, to be important and that you would blow it. It was easy to hope for something but when that hope came to fruition it wasn’t easy to follow through.

What if you weren’t as smart as they thought you were?

What if you messed up and someone got hurt?

What if you crumbled under the pressure?

What if you let yourself down?

What if you let Tony down?

What if you got what you wanted and realised it wasn’t what you needed?

What if you didn’t fit in?

What if they realised the same thing everybody else always inevitably did, that you weren’t likeable?

What if you got thrown out and lost everything?

You were so consumed with what ifs that you didn’t notice that Friday hadn’t answered you. You only looked up when something you couldn’t quite put your finger on let you know something was wrong. You looked around the lab, on alert, searching for what was wrong, when you heard it.

Or rather, you didn’t hear it. The lab was full of equipment and machines that were always on, humming and whirring, the white noise of machinery. It was silent now though, and now that you realised that you could see that all the blinking lights were off.

“Friday?”

There was no response, and a chill ran down your spine. You pulled your phone from your pocket and frowned at the black screen. You raced towards the elevator, knowing full well what you’d find and you were right. There was no electricity in the building, or anything in the building. Something had drained all the power.

Which meant…

“Hello Vænn.” He hissed, right behind you.

Loki’s cell was useless.

His fingers closed around your elbow and you were forcibly slammed into the nearest wall. His green eyes glinted in the darkness and something sharp and cold pressed into the tender flesh over your thrumming pulse.

“Is that a dagger at my throat or are you happy to see me?” You laughed breathlessly, without humour.

“You bested me once, I can not let the insult pass, nor risk you doing it again.” He explained almost amicably.

He was so close you could see the flecks of gold and emerald in his eyes, and the regret as well. It almost distracted you from the sharp pain in your neck until you felt something damp drip down your skin. The dagger was so sharp it had started to slice through your skin even though he’d made no move to injure you yet. His gaze flickered down and he watched the thin rivulet of blood roll down your throat.

“You’re hesitating.” You accused him.

“Are you so eager to die?” He threw back.

“Just wondering if that connection I felt we had was in my imagination, because after our moment on the balcony I thought we were friends. And friends don’t slit friends throats.” You told him, half joking-half imploring.

His eyes darted across your face like he was searching for something, some kind of sign about what to do. Or maybe he was just relishing in your terror and you were projecting.

“I was King. I had the throne and the power. The people adored me, even if they didn’t know it was me. I had everything and it’s lost because of you. You took everything from me and taking your pathetic life isn’t an even bargain but it is all you have, so it is what I will take in recompense.” He hissed, his eyes brimming over with darkness and hate.

“Loki, don’t. Please don’t kill me.” You whispered softly.

“For someone with so much pride, you do beg so prettily, sweet Vænn.” He whispered back, his tone hard where yours had been gentle.

There it was again, that word. What it meant was still beyond the reaches of your knowledge but it hardly seemed pertinent right now, with the tower shrouded in darkness and your blood painting your skin.

They had to know Loki would be free, The Avengers had to know. If you could just stall long enough, distract him, you could survive. You could beg some more, play up to the pathetic mortal gig, wait for someone stronger than you to come and rescue you.

“You can try as hard as you like to lay the blame with me but we both know you were never really King, you were a bastard prince playing pretend.” You snarled.

You didn’t want to die, but in the end you were still you, and you didn’t want to snivel and beg. There was no point in surviving if the price was being unable to look yourself in the mirror.

Thunderous crashing above you made you flinch, unwittingly slicing your own skin a little more. The entire tower shook and for a moment you thought an Earthquake had struck New York, but everything soon became clear.

“Loki! Stop this at once!” Thor roared, his booming voice reaching you a split second before he came crashing into the lab, the hammer swinging in his hand. When he saw you, half hidden behind Loki and blood beginning to stain your shirt, his eyes widened. Which begged the question, if he didn’t know Loki was about to kill you, what was he demanding that Loki stop?

There was one final crash as the ceiling above your head collapsed, plaster and concrete raining down on your lab in a dusty explosion. Instinctively you hid behind Loki, using him as a shield and forgetting about the dagger that he thankfully pulled away in time. When the dust cleared you realised he wasn’t even paying attention to you, his eyes fixed on the centre of the lab. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Thor raise the hammer but you couldn’t care less.

Levitating off the ground, smack in the middle of your lab, was the Tesseract. Blue light shone from it, casting a glow over everything it touched. It was… mesmerising. Utterly entranced by it you stepped forward in tandem with Loki, unaware you’d put yourself between him and Thor. Thor was yelling something but you couldn’t make it out, it was like you were underwater, separated from the world and drowning in blue light. The only thing you could clearly hear was your own heartbeat, slow and steady, calmly pulsating as you walked towards the Tesseract as the light got brighter and brighter.

And then the floor dropped out from under your feet and swirling blue light was the only thing left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaand we're off. 
> 
> I think it's setting itself apart from MMYM. I feel like Princess and Kitten, while both sassy af, are quite different, and this Loki is a little bit different as well. I could be wrong though, so, thoughts?
> 
> Ngl though, I am already digging the Princess/Loki dynamics.


	4. Danger Zone

You’d never actually been inside a washing machine, but you assumed that it didn’t feel altogether dissimilar to whatever the hell was happening to you at the moment. One second you’d been stood in your lab, the next you were nowhere. And everywhere. The only thing that kept you from disappearing into the never ending expanse of blue was the stiff arm that wrapped around your waist, holding onto you for dear life. You were probably screaming, but you couldn’t be sure.

As abruptly as it had happened, it stopped and your feet found solid ground again. Your vision returned gradually, like when you stared directly into sunlight for too long and the edges of your field of vision would remain fuzzy until your eyes readjusted. So it was only a tall green blur that you saw detach itself from your side and hurtle towards the fuzzy blue cube, a pale hand reaching for it a second too late.

“No!” Loki’s voice roared as the Tesseract folded in on itself, abandoning the two of you wherever it had dropped you.

You stumbled backwards, eyes finally taking in the rusty metal walls of the thin corridors you were standing in. You were directly in the centre of a four way junction, between four identical dark corridors stretching endlessly.

“Where are we?” You croaked, still trying to wrap your head around what the hell had just happened.

Loki’s head snapped around at the sound of your voice, dark hair flying in all directions before it settled neatly on his shoulders, perfectly framing his face and the furious expression on it.

“I don’t know.” He hissed through clenched teeth.

He hadn’t been this mad when he’d been captured, so you almost believed him. Only lack of control could piss off a control freak this much, but Loki not knowing where the Tesseract had taken you was a bit far-fetched. He clenched his jaw, the muscles of his face working as he ground his teeth, silently seething at the turn of events.

“I did not direct The Tesseract, I only reached for it, the same as you.” He ‘admitted’ begrudgingly.

“Are we in space? Are we on a spaceship? It looks like a spaceship. Loki you absolute bastard, are we on a spaceship?” You groaned, throwing your head back in exasperation.

“I do not know, I did not do this!” He protested angrily, taking a large stride in your direction.

“Don’t come any closer!” You warned, stepping back.

“Or what?” He scoffed, looking unimpressed.

“I’ll… scream.” You decided, quirking your eyebrow at him challengingly. 

“You assume I wouldn’t immensely enjoy making you scream.” He said lowly.

“Well, we don’t have time to unpack all of that…” You said, shaking your head at yourself and your own inability to just **not** be an idiot.

And maybe you were slightly shaking your head to clear out the highly inappropriate mental images your brain was supplying. Loki was a psychopath, you were still bleeding from the last time he had got his hands on you. Picturing all the fun and acrobatic ways he could make you scream was just evidence that you had brain damage.

“You say you don’t know where we are, well if that’s true then you don’t know who else is here. So if I scream, who knows who may hear it. You want to take that chance?” You said evenly, prepared to do exactly that if he didn’t back off.

“And if it is someone who wishes us harm ,you would be endangering yourself.” He pointed out.

“I’m already in danger! I’ll just be in danger and pissing you off so it’s a win.” You scoffed.

He inhaled slowly, trying to keep calm as he glared at you hatefully.

“What have I done to offend you so badly?” He demanded.

You gaped at him, opening and closing your mouth like a goldfish before you finally found the words.

“You tried to kill me! Twice!” You whisper shrieked.

“And yet you are alive. Clearly I didn’t commit to it.” He pointed out smugly.

“Or you’re just really fucking bad at it. Either way, you’re not getting a third chance.” You snapped, crossing your arms across your chest and glaring at him.

He levelled you with a dark and vaguely threating look, his lips twisting into a sneering smirk. One that was rapidly wiped off his face when a distant bang reverberated through the halls, and booming footsteps echoed. Almost like you’d practiced it, you both threw yourselves down a corridor, using the corners to hide from who or whatever was approaching. You’d picked the corridor to the right but he’d gone left and as the footsteps grew closer you glanced at the empty corridor behind you.

“Vænn, don’t.” He warned, almost inaudibly.

You looked back at him, meeting his frantic eyes as he shook his head at you, silently warning against doing anything stupid. You lifted one shoulder in a half shrug and without and further warning, you bolted away from Loki and the growing footsteps. As quickly and as silently as you could you scurried away, not daring to look over your shoulder and see if you were being pursued, though you suspected you were. The walls didn’t change as you ran, turning corners at random, hoping to find your way out of the rusty metal maze. There were no windows and no doors, for all you knew you were in some kind of underground labyrinth. You ran for what felt like hours, but was probably three or four minutes realistically. Footsteps that were not your own echoed all around you and so when you saw a set of metal doors, you didn’t hesitate. 

You burst through the door and were several feet into the room before your brain caught up to your eyes and you skidded to a halt, your arms windmilling as you tried to regain your balance. For a brief moment you thought that everything was going to be ok and felt a bubble of relief build in your chest as you took in the massive casino you’d just barrelled into. It was Vegas, or Atlantic City, hell it might be Monaco, but it was still Earth. Then an 8ft gelatinous slug slithered past you and the bubble deflated pathetically. It was a casino alright, but unless it was smack-dab in the middle of a really well funded sci-fi convention, it wasn’t on Earth.

Human sized crickets shuffled two decks of cards simultaneously, laying them on the table with frightening speed. Bright pink-skinned women carried trays of smoking and hissing drinks that you were 99% certain would be toxic if you drank them. A Rhinoceros walking on two legs patrolled the floor, beady eyes watching everything with a well trained gaze. Cyborgs pulled bits of tech from their chest and laid them down on the betting tables before choosing from a gaggle of tiny little bear like creatures that would fit in the palm of your hand.

“Ohhhh _motherfucker_.”

You were definitely in space. The more you looked, the clearer it became. Whatever card games were being played were not Poker or Blackjack and you were relatively certain that roulette tables on Earth weren’t living creatures that belched loudly when they ate the roulette balls.

“I’m going to kill that handsome, villainous son of a bitch!” You hissed under your breath, diving behind a row of unfamiliar looking slot machines.

At some point during your sprinting you had irritated the clotting in the thin slice on your throat and a fresh dribble of blood made its way down your neck as you crouched behind a large table, peering around a trifecta of thin yellow legs. Loki hadn’t come bursting through the doors yet, so maybe you had lost him. Which, while it was a relief, still left you stranded in Space Vegas.

“Excuse me, hi, hello, sorry to bother you but could you tell me where I am?” You whispered, peering over the edge of the table at the owner of the legs you were currently using as a shield.

Four confused eyes blinked at you as the alien opened it’s jaw, a series of melodic clicks sounding from the toothless gap.

“Right, don’t know why I thought you’d understand me, that was ridiculous of me.” You sighed, folding your arms on the table and dropping your head onto them.

Death would have been easier than this. Even as you thought it, you knew you were just being an overdramatic baby, but you were completely and utterly screwed, you were allowed to be a baby. You were in space, alone, unarmed and unprepared and all because you had been kidnapped by the lanky streak of peskiness that called itself the God of Mischief. Well this wasn’t Mischief, it was madness, sheer madness. Now that all the adrenaline was wearing off the aches and pains were starting to kick in, the throbbing in your temples, the stinging in your neck, the ache in your muscles. Inhaling deeply to try and keep the tears at bay, it occurred to you that you might not be able to lay the blame on Loki. You had willingly walked up to The Tesseract, though willingly might not be the right word. You had been transfixed and inexplicably pulled towards it, like magic. On second thought, it probably was Loki’s fault.

“You’re in The Conjunction Casino.”

Even if the meaning of them wasn’t familiar to you, you knew what all those words meant. Someone understood you, someone could talk to you. You lifted your head slowly to look across the table at the person who had addressed you, frowning when they stared back at you.

It wasn’t a ‘person’, it was very much not a ‘person’. But thankfully, the loveable android that hung around you lab had somewhat desensitized you to the baffling and mind boggling. Crouching under the table you crawled around the legs of various shapes, sized and colours, muttering apologies as you went.

“What planet are we on?” You whispered, popping up next to the vaguely human shaped metallic being who’d addressed you.

“Conjunction…” He replied.

“We’re on a Casino planet?” You groaned, situating yourself next to him in a way that hid you from view of the doors you’d come through.

“No, we are in a Casino that is on a planet.” He corrected, shuffling his cards.

“So the Casino is named after the planet?” You probed, watching the table.

You quickly figured out what they were playing. It was basically Poker, with a different kind of deck.

“Correct.” He confirmed.

“What solar system are we in?” You asked, hoping he said Milky Way.

Maybe you could find a spaceship to take you home. You weren’t above stealing one either, it couldn’t be that hard to figure out how to fly one.

“You really are very lost, aren’t you?” He asked, befuddled by your line of questioning.

“Yeah, I really am. You won’t win this round.” You warned.

He tilted his head curiously at you and after a moments deliberation, placed his cards down on the table. As you’d predicted, the ‘house’ won.

“Very good. Do you have a Seer chip? They are banned.” He said lowly, barely moving his lips.

“A Seer chip? What’s a Seer chip? No, I’m just good with patterns. You can win this if you convince clicky four eyes over there you have better cards than him.” You advised.

“A chip designed to calculate all possible odds and outcomes of any situation it is presented with. What are you?” He asked, almost idily as he took your suggestion.

“I’m… human. From Earth.” You answered.

“You are Terran. However you came to be on this planet, I advice you to leave immediately.”

“Why?” You asked, a knot of dread beginning to unfurl in the pit of your stomach.

“Terrans are troublesome and chaotic. They have been banned for quite some time, and trespassers are executed on sight.”

Executed. The beady eyes of the Rhino like guard suddenly felt more intense, and you slowly stood up trying not to draw attention to yourself. Your new acquaintance scooped his freshly won chips across the table while your eyes danced around the room, searching for the exit.

“To your left. Thank you for your assistance. Take this as your cut of the winnings.” The Android said, placing a small metal blade on the table in front of you.

You looked between him and the dagger, picking it up and sliding it up your sleeve.

“Do not run, but be swift.” He advised you.

“Why are you helping me?” You whispered.

“You are not the first Terran I have known and I have no dislike of your kind. Helping you has no ill effect on me, betraying you has no reward.”

Cold logic, you could respect that.

“Thank you.” You said gratefully, stepping away from the table and starting a casual but brisk pace in the direction he had pointed you in.

Your skin pricked like a thousand tiny ants were crawling over it and the spot between your shoulder blades burned. You forced yourself to keep calm, to keep walking and not turn around. You didn’t know what you were more afraid of, being discovered by the Casino or caught by Loki. Throwing back your shoulders and raising your chin you strode onwards, unconsciously speeding up when you saw the exit. You had just pushed the doors open when a shout sounded behind you and you didn’t turn around, you just bolted.

Pure white sunlight beat down on you, instantly making you swelter in the heat. There was no breeze, no relief from the stifling warmth.

“It really is fucking Space Vegas!” You bitched, glaring at the desert surrounding you and the very small town.

What was it about sand that made people want to gamble? You raced across the hot sand, bolting for the collection of huts and tents just in front of the Casino. It wasn’t a great hiding place, but it was that or the empty desert. Slipping between two buildings, you edged down the small gap between them, emerging onto a loud and busy street.

Two rows of stalls and tents lined the long street, throngs of vendors and customers all packed into the narrow space. It was not an ideal setting but you could lose yourself in the crowds of people, and hopefully find something to disguise yourself along the way. You kept your head down and your eyes up as you quickly made your way through the market place, marvelling at the stalls of futuristic looking tech. Tony and Peter would have a field day here. Hell, you’d be having a great time if you weren’t being hunted and if you had a ride home. 90% of the people you saw didn’t look remotely human, but there were a few who could have passed for Earthlings, so you didn’t stand out too much.

The first thing you needed to do was find something to cover the injuries on your throat, they were too much of a giveaway. Then you could set about finding somewhere to hide while you came up with a plan. Your goal was to get back to Earth but you accepted that you might have to settle for getting off this planet first. Once you were somewhere less dangerous, then you could have a break down, _then_ see about finding your way home.

It wasn’t a great plan, but it was the best you could do under the circumstances. The fact you hadn’t just curled into a catatonic ball on the floor yet was reason enough to pat yourself on the back frankly.

But you never got the chance to put any phase of your plan into action, because the universe hated you. At least this time when Loki grabbed you, he didn’t immediately try to put a dagger at your throat. He did however put his hand over your mouth and drag you into an alleyway with bruising force. With starling rapidness you were whisked from the marketplace and shoved against a wall, the god staring down at you with eyes burning with ire.

“I warned you not to run, Vænn. Do you have any idea how much danger you have put yourself in you foolish woman?” He hissed.

You rolled your eyes at him, because who asked someone a question while they were stopping them from being able to answer? You let the gifted dagger in your sleeve side down until you were grasping the handle, waiting for the right moment to use it. Loki was so much stronger than you, so much faster. You would only have one shot and if you blew it, he really would kill you this time.

“FIND THE TERRAN!” Came a thunderous roar from the marketplace.

The yell drew Loki’s attention, and that was the moment you struck. Thrusting the dagger upwards, you drove it towards his ribs. The point of the dagger pierced the material of his coat, barely, and the stopped. You groaned when you saw his fingers around your wrist, holding you back with ease.

“I am the _only_ thing standing between you and certain death, and still you try to stab me?” He demanded, aghast.

Your arm trembled with the effort of trying to push the dagger forward, while he didn’t even flinch.

“Enough of this.” He snapped, twisted your wrist away and forcing you to drop the dagger.

“I could have snapped your neck before I tossed you over that railings, and you would have still been a sufficient distraction for the Spiderling. I could have sliced your throat in the laboratory before you even knew I was there. I could have let you be lost in eternity when The Tesseract took you, but I held onto you. I have shown you more consideration than you are due, and still you fight against me. So be it. If you would rather take your chances alone, then go.” He hissed, pulling his hand away from your mouth and stepping away from you.

“I’m supposed to be grateful that your attempts to kill me weren’t successful? Should I thank you? Thanks, glad I’m not dead. But trust you? You. Really? Fuck. Off.” You snarled.

Even as you said it, you remembered the way his arm had curled around your waist when you were caught in the power of The Tesseract. Had that really been what kept you from being lost?

And was Loki really a worse fate than death.

“Your executioners await, Vænn. Go to them, die meaninglessly and alone on this dusty world.” He said, voice icy and expression cold.

“Fine.” You snapped.

“Fine.” He repeated, mockingly.

You swallowed thickly, trying to figure out what the hell to do. Not that there was really much of a choice. However dangerous he was, he wasn’t actively trying to kill you (right now) and that was more than could be said for anyone else on this unfamiliar planet.

“What does it mean? Vænn, what does it mean? ” You sighed.

“It means you are quickly becoming the bane of my existence. Now, are you done with your childish tantrums?” He demanded.

“No.” You pouted.

He let out such a loud sigh you were surprised he didn’t bring your pursuers down on you.

“I won’t try to stab you, or run away. For now.” You muttered, crossing your arms.

“Good enough. I will not kill you. For now.” He offered in return.

Against your better judgement, your lips twitched at his response.

“Was that a smile?” He asked, seemingly genuinely thrown.

“No!”

“I believe it was. Could it be that you are starting to see I am not so terrible after all?” He asked, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

“Give me back my knife, I want to try stabbing you again.” You huffed.

“Now now, is that anyway to speak to a friend.” He admonished.

“We are not friends. You’re a psychotic god who threw me off a building, tried to slit my throat and kidnapped me with a magic space rock. And we haven’t even known each other for a whole day.” You bitched.

“And you are a pesky mortal who imprisoned me, taunted me, belittled me and abandoned me. However, I did not kidnap you my dear Vænn. The Tesseract was not under my control, someone else used it to send us here. I know not who or why, but I do know that without me you will not survive long, and you have proven yourself clever enough to be of potential use to me. I am the only friend you have here, perhaps the only friend you will ever have again. Without my friendship you will never see your home again.” He said, not unkindly.

You weren’t entirely sure you believed him about The Tesseract, but you knew he was right that you wouldn’t survive without him. If you died then You would never see Tony again, Peter would never know what happened to you. With the chaotic sounds of your pursuers search for you drawing closer, you uncrossed your arms and held your hand out to Loki, decision made.

“Allies, not friends.” You bartered.

“I will take it, for now.” He smirked, reaching to shake your hand and seal the deal.

The instant his skin made contact with yours there was a blinding flash of light, and The Tesseract popped into existence beside you. You and Loki exchanged a glance and then without any further hesitation, you both reached for it in tandem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is not going in the direction I had planned for it 😂. nevertheless, I hope you guys are enjoying it!


	5. Welcome To The Jungle

~~~Earth~~~

“The Tesseract appears and drains all the power from the building, freeing Loki. It then bulldozes down a dozen floors and picks up its master, taking him and our girl god knows where.”

“Thankyou for that succinct summary that highlights how hopeless our situation is.” Tony sniped, looking up for the first time in over an hour to shoot a glare at Natasha.

“Stark,” Steve chastised, “I know you’re worried about her but think it through. Loki could have killed her in the lab but he didn’t, he took her. He probably needs her for something, after all he came here for that device and he knows she made it.”

“Amora has been captured and Loki is not in Asgard. Heimdall can not see him but Asgard is on alert for any sign of Loki.” Thor argued, unconvinced.

The truth was none of them knew what the hell had happened. How the Tesseract had drained all of the power, why Loki had gone to you, why you had been taken, it was all an infuriating mystery. All they knew was that you were gone.

“This Amora is our only lead right now. It’s better than sitting around on our asses and wondering if she’s ok. We need to talk to Amora.” Tony decided, taking the only course of action he could see.

“My father does not like to have Mortals in Asgard.” Thor warned, but he didn’t look like he was arguing against it, just preparing them.

“Then we don’t send the mortals. Wanda, Vision, Steve and Bucky can go to Asgard and figure out what Amora knows and maybe find out how Loki learned to control the Tesseract the way he has.” Natasha suggested.

“Fine. Go find out what you can, Vision, learn everything you can about The Tesseract. Loki took something from me and I want it back.” Tony agreed, pushing himself to his feet and striding towards the elevator.

One of his mentorees was lost for the moment, and the other needed him. Peter hadn’t taken your kidnapping well at all, none of them had, but the young spider was taking it harder than anyone except Tony.

All that remained of your lab was a construction nightmare, the caved in ceiling covering everything in plaster and dust. Perched in the centre of the destruction Peter was digging under the rubble.

“Kid, what are you doing here?” He asked softly from the doorway.

“I’m trying to think like her. Thor said Loki didn’t make her go with him, she just walked up to The Tesseract.” Peter said without turning around.

“Kid…”

“Maybe she was being controlled by him but maybe there was a reason she did it. Or maybe we can reverse the signal from the Tesseract and call it back here…” He babbled.

“Peter,” He said loudly, catching the young boys attention. “Whatever happened we will figure it out and we will bring her home but I will not have her come back to find you exhausted and overworked. She’ll kill us all.” He scoffed, knowing it was true.

You might tease the kid to the limit of his endurance, but you were utterly soft on him and everyone knew it. Anyone so much as blinked in Peters direction and Tony had to hold you back. It was the main reason they’d hidden the truth about Spiderman from you for so long.

“I just want to find her.” Peter whispered, his voice breaking.

“I know, I do too, but she would want you to take care of yourself in the meantime.” Tony argued gently.

“You don’t know what she would want, she’s not here to tell us.” Peter snapped, expression immediately filling with regret.

“Alright, Friday, play the audio from the elevator before Princess trapped Loki.” Tony ordered.

_“Where’s the kid, is he still in the lab?” Your frantic voice demanded, and anyone could hear the panic and fear in your tone, it was so potent._

_“Peter Parker is not in the tower.” Friday responded and the sigh of relief you let out stabbed straight at Tony’s heart._

_“Thank god.” You whispered, genuine gratitude in your voice._

“Tell me again I don’t know that she wants you to be safe.” Tony demanded.

Peter looked up, his eyes glossed over with unshed tears.

“I’ll go home and get some sleep, for her. But you have to…” He started to say.

“I’ll call you if we get any sort of news. No matter how irrelevant it may seem.” Tony interrupted, giving the promise he knew was needed.

Peter nodded and stood up, crossing the room on shaky legs.

“Happy will take you home, you aren’t allowed back until you’ve had at least eight hours of sleep and eaten a decent meal.” Tony warned, escorting him into the elevator.

“Ok Mr Stark.” Peter agreed, taking a deep breath and looking at the lab one last time before the doors closed.

That was one kid taken care of, now he could focus on the one who was in trouble.

Parenting was tough.

~~~NOT Earth~~~

You idly picked at a piece of bark, ignoring what was happening in front of you. As soon as you had arrived… wherever you were, The Tesseract had disappeared again, slipping right out of Loki’s grasp.

He wasn’t taking it well.

It didn’t help that he apparently didn’t know where you were. It was a jungle, you could be certain of that much, but you highly doubted it was the Amazon. The amethyst sky above you and two suns in the sky kind of killed any hope that you had been returned home.

“Maybe nobody is controlling it. Maybe it’s malfunctioning?” You suggested, shrugging when he turned his glare onto you.

“It is an infinity stone, it doesn’t _malfunction_. Somebody is controlling it, making it so that he Tesseract is dropping us in random locations and then returning, I suggest we…” He raged, stopping short and frowning at you mid-tirade. “Vænn, what do you have in your pocket?”

“Nothing.” You said quickly.

“Then why is your pocket moving?” He pointed out, eyes narrowed at you pocket which was indeed wriggling.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You told him innocently.

“It just did it again.” He sighed.

“You’re hallucinating.” You protested.

“Show me what’s in your pocket Vænn.” He demanded.

“No.”

“So there is something in your pocket.” He asked smugly.

“No?”

“Vænn!”

“Loki!”

“I will pin you down and check it myself.” He threatened.

“Nuh uh, if you keep manhandling me you’re going to have to buy me dinner.” You snorted, jumping to your feet and scarpering backwards when he actually did take a step in your direction.

“We need to have a conversation about boundaries! This area is my bubble, ok?” You spread your arms and gestured at the space around you.

“Stop trying to distract me.” He told you, shaking his head at your antics.

You sighed loudly and reached into your pocket, gently scooping the occupant out and carefully cradling it in your hand. Loki leant over to peer at it, ignoring you pulling it out of his reach.

“What is that?” He asked in a tone of voice that said he knew exactly what it was.

The miniature bear-like creature paused it’s delighted wiggling to look up at him, sniffing the air cautiously.

“They were being used in betting games, it wasn’t fair.” You said softly, trying to explain your reasoning for slyly snatching it off the table and slipping it into your pocket while you made your escape from the Conjunction Casino.

The bear made a very small squeaking sound and curled up on your palm, blinking languidly at you.

“You stole it?” Loki asked, almost amused.

“Rescued.” You corrected.

“Do you even know what it is?” He scoffed.

“Mini bear.” You said with a straight face.

“It’s a Grofflink, a creature from Vanaheim. It mirrors the savagery and prowess of whomever owns it.” He said, eyes twinkling with amusement as the Grofflink yawned loudly and wiggled its paws.

You wrinkled your nose as you processed the information, stroking the little creature with your thumb.

“They make them fight and bet on the outcome, don’t they?” You asked sadly.

“They do. This one doesn’t appear to be very dangerous though.” Loki noted with a teasing smirk.

You cradled your hand to your chest, rolling your eyes as the Grofflink let out a teensy snore as it fell asleep in your hand.

“I’m dangerous.” You muttered petulantly.

“Of course you are Vænn.” Loki agreed with a straight face.

“I’m just tired right now, that’s all.” You argued, glaring at him.

“It has been a long day for you.” He said amicably.

“Can you just go back to being a prickly asshole?” You snapped, gently placing your new pet back in your pocket and storming away.

“Where are you going?” Loki called after you.

“We can’t just sit here and wait for the Tesseract to come back for us. I’m tired, and I’m hungry. I’m mortal, I need… things to survive. I’m gonna go find things.” You explained, stomping through the underbrush.

“Very well.” Loki decided, overtaking you and leading the way through the jungle, like it was his idea.

“Welcome to the jungle, we like fun and games…” You sang under your breath.

“What are you doing?” Loki griped, looking over his shoulder at you.

You gave him an innocent look and shrugged, making a zipping motion over your lips.

“We got everything you want, honey we know the names.”

“Stop singing.” He snapped without turning around.

You rolled your eyes and continued singing in your head, bopping your head as you trekked behind him, ducking under branches. You were barely humming along to the song in your head, but he still heard it, shooting glares at you every few seconds. After the sixth time, he broke.

“You’re going to get yourself eaten by some creature that resides in the jungle and I’m going to let it happen!” He hissed.

“In that case… You're in the jungle baby! You're gonna die! In the jungle, welcome to the jungle, Watch it bring you to your shun n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees, knees!” You hollered at the top of your voice.

“Norns help me.” He growled, stomping as far away from you as he could.

“What’s wrong with my singing?” You sniggered, running after him.

“I can hear it.” He answered, letting go of the branch he was holding onto as you approached, letting you get a face full of leaves.

You spluttered and flipped your middle finger at his retreating back. The more Loki lost control of a situation, the grumpier he got. You might not be able to stab him, but you could annoy him and that was almost as satisfying. It was almost enough to distract you from the 5000 stressful emotions churning around inside you. But as the minutes ticked by and the suns beat down on you, you started to crack more and more under the pressure. Your throat started to burn with dehydration and every beat of your pulse sent a fresh wave of agony through your head. You couldn’t see or hear any kind of water source, though you knew there had to be one.

You could hear birds chirping somewhere nearby, so even if you hadn’t seen a living creature you knew they were here. Which meant there had to be water.

“I HATE space. I hate it, I hate it all. Fuck space.” You snapped, wrestling with a particularly annoying tangle of vines.

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Loki called back sarcastically.

“On Netflix.” You yelled.

Your pocket twitched and you guilty flinched and lowered your voice.

“I miss Earth. I miss my apartment, I miss my bed, I miss my coffee pot, I miss Uber Eats. I miss Tony, don’t tell him I said that.” You whined.

“Please go back to singing.” Loki begged.

“I can’t, I’m too tired. I am tired and I am sore, and hot, and thirsty and I am starving and I hate space!”

“Really, you hate space? I had no idea, why didn’t you say something before now.” He asked sarcastically.

When he realised that you’d finally gone silent he looked back, sighing when he saw why you’d gone quiet.

“What are you doing?” He sighed as he walked back over to you.

“I’m done.” You whimpered, closing your eyes.

You fished your Grofflink out of your pocket and checked on it, settling it on your stomach as you lay on the jungle floor. Leaves and branched stabbed into you but you were so far past caring. Loki knelt next to you, gazing down at you with a darkly mischievous expression.

“Eons ago, when I first mastered my seiðr, I discovered small pockets in the dimensions. I began using them to my advantage, mastering them. I keep many thing stored safely in them, thing I and only I can access at any time.” He said casually.

You narrowed your eyes at him, catching on to what he was implying.

“Loki….”

“Yes my dear Vænn?”

“Do you have, maybe, a bottle of water in one of your hidey holes?” You asked through gritted teeth.

“I believe I may have something that could sate your thirst.” He smirked.

“Do you also happen to have my knife, I’d really like it back.” You snarled.

“If you want my help, all you have to do is ask for it. After all, I would be happy to help a friend.”

“You are such a bitch.” You snapped, sitting up, careful not to jostle your snoozing Grofflink.

“That didn’t sound like a please.” He pointed out.

“Please Loki, go fuck yourself.”

“So stubborn. Suit yourself.” He sighed, standing up and strolling away.

You watched the Grofflink’s little chest rise and fall, wondering how long such a tiny creature could go without water.

“Loki…” You called.

He turned around and looked at you expectantly.

“Please.” You whispered, closing your eyes so you didn’t have to look at his smug expression.

“Please, what?”

“Please help me. If you really want to be my friend then I kind of have to be alive, which means I need water.” You admitted.

“So there is hope for us?” He pushed.

“Maybe. If you’re telling the truth, I can admit we got off to a bad start and call it even. We could perhaps, possibly be…” You swallowed thickly and forced yourself to finish the sentence, _“Friends._ ”

“I am glad to hear you say it, but I fear I can’t help you Vænn.” He said apologetically.

You wrenched your eyes open and glared hatefully at him. He had tricked you, toyed with you just to hear you flatter his stupid ego. He rolled his eyes at you and pointed at the spot next to your head.

“There’s been a canteen of water next to you for the last few minutes, but thank you for giving me hope for our friendship.”

“Loki, you _BASTARD_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grofflink! I couldn't resist. It's like a little Grizzly bear that sits at about 3 inches tall. 
> 
> Now, what are we going to call our lil Grofflink? I'll choose a name from your guys suggestions. 💕💕💕
> 
> P.S - Did you like the chapter and the way the story is unfolding? I'm a lil unsure rn.


	6. Runaway

Water had helped, but you were running on the very dregs of adrenaline. The last time you had gotten any sleep was in your own bed, back on Earth. Since then you had spent the day at work, been thrown off a roof by a god, captured said god, been nearly murdered by the pissed-off god, catapulted through space, been chased through an alien casino by human-hunting security guards, been catapulted through space again and spent hours trekking through the jungle. 

You’d gone from ravenous to so starved that the very idea of food made you feel nauseous. Stomach acid churned in your empty belly, giving you a raging heartburn. Exhaustion was making you dizzy, every step forward taking energy you just didn’t have. The humid heat of the jungle was sapping at the reserves of water in your body, every sip of water you took being transformed into beads of sweat. 

“You must be starving Winnie.” You acknowledged guiltily, testing out the name you had decided on. 

He blinked up at you, his claws flexing before he pointed at something behind you. You trailed to a stop, befuddled. Turning around you looked for what he was pointing at but all you could see were trees and plants. 

“Wait… this?” You asked, plucking a leaf off of a branch and passing it to Winnie. 

He grabbed it excitedly and started tearing into it, looking up at you with chubby cheeks as he monched on the leaf. 

“Hang on, did you understand me? Do you speak English?” You gasped. 

“He doesn’t understand your words, he’s telepathically bonded to you.” Loki called out, the first indication that he’d even been paying any attention to you. 

You sped up until you were walking next to him, determined to get some useful information out of him. You had grabbed Winnie in a spur of the moment rash decision, fuelled by a desire to save at least one of them but your actions had caught up to you and you were now wondering what the next best step for Winnie was. 

“Tell me about Grofflink’s. What do they eat? What kind of environment do they need? How long will they live? What other qualities will it absorb from me?” You shot off, not pausing to take a breath between questions. 

Loki sighed, begrudgingly resigning himself to having to explain it to you.

“They are bred from eggs, untouched by any other living being until selected by their new owner. They will automatically bond to the first living thing to touch them, in this case that was you. They’re omnivorous, he will eat whatever you give him. He will retain his own personality separate from yours, but his savagery and bloodlust will be taken directly from you. Eons ago, Grofflink’s would ride into battle with their bonded, that is where the trait comes from.” He explained. 

“Ride into battle? Winnie? In battle?” You winced, cradling him protectively. “He’s three inches tall!” 

“He is a youngling. What did you call him?” Loki said derisively, looking at you like you were an idiot. 

“Winnie. Loki… How big is he going to get?” You asked nervously. 

If he grew battle sized then if you ever got back to Earth then you would have to talk to Tony about making your apartment Grizzly Bear accessible. 

“That depends entirely on you Vænn. Grofflink’s depend on their bonded. Your care will make him grow. In times gone by they could grow to fearsome sizes, when they were treated as equals and cared for. Now they are used for entertainment and sport, so few grow beyond the size they hatch at. It’s been mere hours and you have named yours, you’re already attached to it. I would prepare yourself for him to grow quickly.” He said with a hint of amusement. 

So Winnie would likely get bigger, and there was going to be no releasing him into the wild. He’d imprinted on you which meant he was now your responsibility. 

“I’m gonna need a bigger pocket.” You snorted. 

Winnie held out his leaf to you, waving it to get your attention. 

“No thanks, you enjoy your leaf little man.” You cooed. 

You had contemplated eating leaves, but decided against it. You wouldn’t be any better off if you accidentally poisoned yourself. You had almost asked Loki if they would be safe for you to consume but he would have probably lied anyway, so there was no point.. 

“Can we, can we rest for a minute?” You asked, leaning against a tree trunk without waiting for an answer. 

He ignored your request, looking around with vested interest. 

“Loki?” 

“Stay here.” He ordered. 

Despite your exhaustion you opened your mouth to argue but something about the way he said it stopped you. He was tense, coiled up like a viper waiting to strike, his head tilted ever so slightly to the side like a wolf listening to something in the distance. As he disappeared into the foliage you realised that was probably exactly what had happened, he had heard something your human ears hadn’t picked up. 

Taking cover under some leafy branches you knelt on the ground and tugged the flask from your waistband. You were still so thirsty, it was difficult to resist the urge to drain the whole thing but you held yourself back, taking a few sips and swilling the water around your dry mouth first. 

“Hey, you thirsty little guy?” You whispered, pouring a few drops into the lid as the Grofflink emerged from your pocket, peering over the edge of the material curiously. 

You held the makeshift water bowl up to him (You were just hazarding a guess that it was a he) and smiled softly when he dunked his entire face into the water and slurped it up. You tucked the flask back into your waistband when he was done and let him climb up your shirt to settle on your shoulder. 

“It’s kinda pretty here, isn’t it? In a weird, unsettling kind of way.” You said gently, looking up at the sky. 

“Peter would lose his mind if he could see this.” You decided. 

Peter probably was losing his mind, back on Earth. Tony too. You didn’t know what you dreaded more, the thought of them worrying about you or the thought that they might just write you off and move on. 

What if they just assumed you were dead, or unrescuable? Would they just offer your job to someone else? Would Tony just replace you? You liked to think that you had a bond with the Iron Man, that he cared about you as much as you cared about him. You looked up to him, relied on him far more than you should of. You were just an employee though, at the end of the day that was all you were. Maybe he’d be careful to pick someone with fewer attachment issues next time, hire someone less annoying. 

You’d walked away from The Avengers when they offered you a place with them, what if they assumed you were rejecting them? And all those times you’d teased Peter, what if he never knew that it was just your way of caring? What if he never realised that you genuinely adored him? You had been so afraid of rejection that you held people at arms length, rejecting them before they had the chance to do it first. Acting cold and uncaring, running through life like you were untouchable, hiding your fears behind a mask of bitchiness. 

Your defensive mechanisms had only led you here, to being lost and forgotten. 

“I will remember you.”

The memory Loki’s words echoed in your mind, the ironic icing on the depressing cake. Loki was your only chance to get home, to look Peter and Tony in the eye and tell them that you cared, and if he failed then he would be the only person who remembered you. 

You were fighting against the futility of your situation so hard, trying to not let it overwhelm you but the longer it went on, the harder it was not to succumb. You were stranded, injured, exhausted, starved, confused and quickly losing hope. The only hope you had left lay in the form of someone who had tried to kill you, someone who’s mysterious motives were unquestionably malicious. 

You blinked back tears and looked up when the foliage rustled, placing Winnie back in your pocket where he would be safe. 

“I really hope that’s you Loki.” You called out. “Things I never thought I’d say.” You added under your breath. 

The bushes rustled and parted, Loki stepping out of them. He wordlessly held out his hand to you, waving you forward. Stumbling to your feet you went to him, not even flinching when he wrapped his hand around your elbow and pulled you forward through the trees. 

“What did you find?” You mumbled, trying to keep your balance and relying on his hold far more than you cared to admit. 

The trees thinned as you came to edge of a ravine. The jungle continued for miles and miles beyond it, as far as the eye could see, the green giving way to a black band below the sky that melted into the magenta horizon. 

“Look.” Loki said softly, his eyes locked ahead. 

You looked in the direction he was, squinting as you tried to see what had him so transfixed. It took you a second to register what you were looking at. 

“What is that?” You whispered. 

He didn’t answer, just kept watching the dark line of the horizon. It took a long time for your tired mind to make sense of what you were seeing but when you did you nearly threw up as a wash of fear consumed you. That dark line was moving, growing. Something was rippling through the jungle, consuming it as it went. The darkness was the absence of trees, the plants being obliterated by whatever was coming. Stretching out along the horizon, in both directions and bulldozing its way towards you. 

“Loki… how fast is that thing heading for us?” You asked in dread. 

He finally ripped his eyes from the oncoming deathwave to look at you, his mind churning as he tried to figure out the answer to your question. 

“Too fast.” Was the answer he finally came up with. 

As soon as he said it he was moving back the way you had came, dragging you with him. 

“What is it?” You gasped, trying to keep up with his pace. 

“Death.” 

“Oh, that’s a comforting answer, thanks for that.” 

“Stop asking stupid question and run.” He snarled. 

You tried to take his advice, struggling to stay upright as he sprinted away. He didn’t slow when you stumbled, just dragged you along as you tried to regain your balance. It made sense now, why you hadn’t seen any creatures in the jungle. They had all already fled, abandoning the endangered place you had been foolishly wandering through. What kind of messed up death planet was this? Or had the Tesseract dropped you onto a planet that was mid-apocalypse? Was it a natural apocalypse or an attack? So many questions and none of them mattered because if you didn’t keep running you would die. 

You ran, not bothering to look where you were going. You gave up control and put your trust into Loki, stepping where he stepped, not thinking about your moves and just letting instinct take over. The pace he set was brutal and the distance you covered was almost inhuman but you did it anyway. Adrenaline flooded through you, replenishing you, letting you run with a god away from certain death. You drowned out everything, all thought and you just ran. When you heard the deathwave behind you, you ignored it, never looking back, just following his lead. You gave yourself over to the burn of your muscles, the screaming of your lungs for more oxygen. Every ounce of pain you embraced with gratitude, letting it remind you what it meant to be alive. As the seconds ticked over to minutes you covered miles of jungle, leaping when he leapt, ducking when he ducked, weaving when he weaved. Your whole world narrowed down to Loki in front of you and death behind you and you didn’t falter. 

Not until he slammed to a halt and threw out his arm to catch you did you stop. 

“It’s circling the planet.” He gasped, standing in front of a line in the ground. 

Beyond the line was a wasteland, a never ending expanse of lifeless grey. He was right, the deathwave must have started here and made it’s way around this world, travelling back to the point it was born. 

Which meant there was nowhere for you to run. 

He let go of you, ignoring you as you collapsed to the ground in a broken heap like a puppet who’s strings had been cut. 

“What… you… doing?” You heaved, trying to breath, too tired to raise your hand and wipe away the flood of sweat that was dripping down your face. 

He raised his hands towards what was left of the jungle and you saw the tingle of green glowing from his fingertips. You breathed as deeply as you could, pulling in much needed oxygen. With a herculean effort you put your hands in front of you and pushed yourself to your feet so you could limp over to him. 

It took a few moments before you could speak and in that time the rumbling grew louder. You could see it through the gaps in the tree’s, the dark storm that swallowed everything and obliterated it. 

“What are you going to do? Hold back a planet destroying wave of death with a green nightlight?” You asked him, turning your head to gaze up at him. 

“Do you have any better suggestions?” He snapped. 

“Call your man in Asgard, Heimdall right? Can’t he pick us up?” You suggested desperately. 

“I would rather die than go back into a cell.” Loki hissed. 

“I would rather you go back into a cell than I die. HEIMDALL! HELP! HELLOOOOO!” You screamed, waving your hands in the air. 

“He can not see me, nor by extension you. I have shielded myself from his gaze.” Loki hissed. 

“Oh, well, fuck you and your entire ass. YO! TESSERACT! WE’RE DONE WITH THIS ONE NOW, COME GET US! BEAM US UP, TESSIE!” 

Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. 

“Fuck.” You stated emphatically. 

“Stay behind me.” Loki ordered, looking across his shoulder at you. 

For the briefest of seconds you could see the fear in his eyes, and all the anger and hatred drained out of you. Everything that had led to this moment no longer mattered, you were here, a god and a mortal, dying together. And he was willing to stand in front of you, to die first. He smiled at you softly a barely there flicker of his lips and then he turned away, facing the dying forest. 

The deathwave was visible now, the ground beneath your feet shaking with the terrible force of it. You fished Winnie out of your pocket, cradling him in your hands. 

“I’m sorry, I saved you for this. I am so sorry.” You whispered. 

Beautifully blinding Emerald light shone from Loki’s palms, slamming into the deathwave and you gasped as the destructive wave faltered, slowing to a crawling pace as he used his might to stave it off. 

He was fighting it, buying you time and damnit you were going to use it. You weren’t going to give up so easily. If, when you died you weren’t going to do it snivelling. It was going to be epic. You studied the wasteland behind you, searching for clues. Everything was gone, wiped out by the wave. Except… not everything. There was still rocks, stones, rubble. The wave was wiping out everything alive, like the plants and the trees, and the animals. 

“The birds.” You whispered to yourself. 

There had been birds, you had heard them. They were nowhere to be seen, not hiding in the last patch of life that remained so the only place they could have gone was into the wasteland. You quickly and carefully deposited Winnie in your pocket, making sure he was secure before you squared your shoulders and started running. 

“Vænn!” Loki roared as you flitted past him, back towards the deathwave. 

You skirted as close to it as you dared, snatching a twig of the ground and sprinting back. Your eyes locked onto Loki as you raced past him, noting the ashen pallor of his skin. Loki’s magic was feeding the deathwave, being consumed by it. He was holding it back by feeding it his own energy, and if you didn’t move quickly then he would die. Sending out a silent prayer to who or whatever the fuck might be out there listening you drew your arm back and flung the stick across the line and into the wasteland. 

It spun through the air, sailing over the dark line in the ground before it settled on the drained earth. 

“Loki!” You yelled, but he was too distracted, using every ounce of his strength to hold back the deathwave that was gaining on him. 

“Oh fucking hell.” You muttered. 

You knew what you had to do, and you knew it probably wouldn’t work but it was the only chance you had. Your feet dug into the ground as you pushed forward, slamming into Loki and wrapping your arms around his midriff. You pushed him back and together you stumbled across the line, landing in a heap on the grey soil, next to the unharmed twig you had tossed over. His body cushioned your fall and you looked back in time to see the deathwave rush forward, meeting the point it had begun. The roar was deafening, wind whipping at you as you buried your face into his shoulder, unable to keep looking into the eye of the storm. 

And then silence. 

You cautiously looked up, peering over your shoulder at… nothing. The deathwave had dissipated, not crossing over to territory it had already covered. 

“How did you know that would work?” Loki asked weakly. 

“I didn’t. I didn’t.” You whispered. 

And then you were laughing, or crying, or some combination of both and it didn’t matter that you were straddling Loki, you just dropped your head into his chest and let the hysterics take over. 

“You saved my life Vænn. You didn’t have to throw me across the line with you, you saved me.” He whispered. 

For some reason that was the funniest thing you had ever heard and you the laughter kicked up several notches as you rolled off of him, only just having the sense of mind to protect your occupied pocket as you did. 

“You can’t call me that. You can’t call me Vænn anymore. I can’t be the bane of your existence if I am the reason you’re still alive.” You giggled, brushing tears off of your face. 

The laughter died down but the tears kept falling and you just lay on the ground next to him, letting the tears silently fall. 

“It doesn’t mean that, it doesn’t mean you are the bane of my existence.” He finally said, looking up at the magenta sky. 

“But you told me…” 

“I am the lie smith. I lied.” He interrupted. 

“Of course you did.” You sighed. 

The edges of your vision started to go dark and your eyes fluttered shut, only to be wrenched open again when a flash of blue shone under your eyelids. The Tesseract spun above you, levitating off the ground. 

“I think it’s clear that whoever is controlling The Tesseract is trying to kill us.” He snarled. 

“Trying to kill you, I’m just the tech support. But do we really have any other choice?” You sighed, knowing you really didn’t. It was use The Tesseract or try to survive on a decimated post-apocalyptic world. 

“No, no we do not.” Loki sighed back, standing up. 

“Once more unto the breach.” You whimpered, stiffly and slowly pulling yourself to you feet, not even so much as glaring at him when he helped you. 

You groaned and looked up at him, meeting his eyes for a second. 

“Vænn…” He whispered softly. 

And then your eyes rolled back in your head and you fainted in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @wolfsmom1 suggested Winnie and was backed up by @condy-wants-a-cookie because they want Loki to hear say Winnie, and I am fully with them 😂
> 
> So out lil Grofflink has a name, and we have a bit more info about his species (Unlike a lot of the races I use, Grofflink are 100% made up and not from the comics). 
> 
> Plus there was a near death experience, Loki being a badass with his magic and poor princess literally fainting in his arms.


	7. Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Something was tickling your neck, right below your ear. You groaned and wrenched your eyes open, pawing at the tickly spot. Your hand met something fuzzy and soft.

“Winnie?” You croaked, stretching your neck to glance down at your little bear friend.

The Grofflink let out a tiny rumble, faceplanting your cheek.

“I think that means you’re happy I’m awake.” You chuckled throatily, coughing to clear some of the grime from your airway.

And then you sat up so quickly you made yourself dizzy, clutching Winnie as he slid down your body. At the foot of your bed stood several figures, watching you.

“Um, hello?” You croaked, trying to figure out what the hell you were looking at.

Children, wide-eyed and curious children. Oh, and they were also covered head to toe in a thick pinkish fur. One of them waved excitedly, squealing happily when you waved back. They rushed around to the sides of the bed excitedly, chattering away in a high-pitched series of squeaks.

“Oh, ok, this is a thing that’s happening. Sure.” You winced.

One of them presented you with a steaming bowl, looking particularly proud of itself, while another tried to climb onto the bed at your side.

“LOKI!” You called out, trying to watch all half-dozen of the scrambling things at once.

One of them jumped up and down on the spot, pointing at a door on the far side of the room.

“Loki?” You questioned, pointing at the same door.

They all nodded enthusiastically, confirming where your missing god was. Setting Winnie on your shoulder you climbed out of the bed, carefully avoiding kicking any of the furry children in the face accidentally. You felt a bit woozy when you stood, but not as much as you would have expected considering the last thing you remembered was passing out from exhaustion. The one with the bowl was still trying to hand it to you so you took it, forcing out a smile as you did.

“Thank you, thanks.” You told them, scurrying across the room while they followed, laughing amongst themselves.

You threw open the door to see a small walled off garden. Green bushes with colourful flowers that looked only a little alien lined the room and yellow sunlight filtered down through the thin straw roof, illuminating the figure on a bench in the centre of the oasis. Shutting the door with a harried ‘sorry’ you wandered towards him. He didn’t look up as you approached, his attention on the quill and parchment in his hand as he scribbled away.

“Dear diary, despite my warm and cuddly exterior I still can’t make friends. It’s almost like people don’t like it when you try to kill them. Perhaps I would have more luck if I tried not being a bitch? No, that’s stupid. I’ll probably just try to take over another planet again, maybe that will work.” You narrated pompously.

The scratching of the quill tapered off and he sighed heavily, turning his head to stare blankly at you.

“I see rest has made you no less irritable, or less irritating.” He noted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m an absolute darling.” You scoffed, settling yourself next to him and peering at the parchment in his hand that he swiftly made disappear in a flash of green.

“So it was your secret diary?” You asked, a lot more interested now that you knew he didn’t want you to see it.

“It was not. Simply potential spells I am hoping will recapture The Tesseract.” He corrected.

Winnie clambered off your shoulder, using your arm as a slide to get down onto the bench.

“Speaking of our friend Tessie, where has she dumped us this time and why was I being watched by a gaggle of furry children?” You snorted, watching as Winnie shuffled along the bench and climbed off it, waddling away and disappearing into a bush happily.

“Ryas. And those things are Druffs, essentially _furry children_. Harmless and idiotic things.” Loki answered.

“So, I’m assuming they didn’t take care of me while I was unconscious?” You smirked, side-eyeing him.

He just blinked at you, unaffected.

“Loki?” You teased in a sing-song voice.

“Yes, Vænn?” He dead-panned.

“Thank you.” You said seriously.

“You did save my life, it seemed only fair to watch over you while you rested.” He said, shrugging off the gratitude, but you saw the way his eyes sparkled.

“So, where’s the catch? What’s the danger on this planet?” You prodded, sipping at the warm broth in the bowl.

It was surprisingly delicious, and warmed you all the way through.

“There doesn’t appear to be any. Yet. After you collapsed The Tesseract whisked us away to this place and left again, despite my attempts to reign it in.” He sighed, his forehead creasing up.

“About that… Whoever it is controlling it, they don’t like you, that much is obvious. I’m guessing that’s a long list of people?” You deduced bluntly.

His jaw twitched and he exhaled sharply, answering without saying anything.

“Ok so a lot of people would, how many of them could?”

“None. Or none that I know of.” He shrugged, trying to mask his annoyance.

You chewed at your lip while you pondered the problem/s, setting your bowl aside as you prepared yourself to tell Loki what you were thinking.

“We studied that thing for years on Earth, there’s a veritable goldmine of research that I can make use of. If I could just get to it, I could figure something out, I’m sure of it.” You began, gently testing the waters.

He raised his eyebrow at you, curiosty piqued, and waved his hand to gesture you should continue.

“Remember the Mugglemaker? Everything in the universe is made of energy, even magic. It took me weeks but I finally found a way to disrupt the energy flow of magic, temporarily. I don’t see how it can be that different to do the same thing with The Tesseract.” You explained.

“If anyone could do it, I would put my faith in you. Alas, we are not on Midgard and have no way of returning. Your theoretical victory is just that, a theory.” He sighed.

“That’s not true though. I can get back to Earth. I know Thor, I’ve spent time with you. I think if I called for Heimdall then there’s a chance he might rainbow me up.” You argued.

“No.” He snapped immediately.

“Me, not you. You don’t have to be there, I can do it once you’re already gone. Then I can go back to Earth and figure out this puzzle…” You pleaded, trying to get him on board with your new plan.

“Ah, I see. You’re not so different from the rest of your kind after all. You want to abandon me to save yourself.” He stood up suddenly, pacing away from you like a restless tiger.

“That’s not what I said.” You groaned.

“You didn’t have to.” He hissed, turning around to level you with his glare.

“Put your godamn issues aside for a second and listen to what I am saying.” You reasoned frustratedly, standing up to face him down.

“I am listening Vænn and I hear you. You want to run away and leave me to deal with this alone, not caring what might happen to me so long as you find your way back to your pathetic little life.” He taunted harshly.

You gaped for a second, thrown by the vicious turn the conversation had taken but your own anger quickly rose to the occasion.

“My life’s pathetic? I’m not so desperate for love I had to impersonate my own fucking father!”

“I was born to be a King! I seized the throne the only way I could because it was my birthright!” He yelled.

“There’s no such thing as a birthright, the universe churns us out at random and promptly forgets about us. Nobody is owed anything, _you’re_ not owed a damn thing so stop making everyone suffer through your bitchfits because you aren’t getting your own way!” You screeched back.

You’d pushed it to far and as soon as the words left your mouth you knew it. He rounded on you with fury blazing in his eyes, advancing on you with single minded purpose even as you walked backwards. Your back met the wall and you were trapped, caged in by the furious god who was absolutely going to kill you this time.

“I am owed what I can take, so do not think you are better than me Vænn. You seek glory as much as I do, crave it deep down in your bones, you dream of a world that knows your name, you want the admiration and adoration of your people. The only difference between us is I am a god and you a mortal.” He snarled, his words piercing straight through your heart.

You couldn’t bring yourself to meet his eyes, staring at a spot over his shoulder as you clenched your jaw tightly. Everybody dreamt of glory, right? In their imagination, everyone was the hero of the hero of their own stories. Stronger, wiser, better than they were in the real world. You weren’t a fool for wanting to be loved, you just weren’t.

He leant in until his lips nearly brushed your ear.

“So have care how you speak to me little mortal, my fondness for you has it’s limits.” He whispered.

He stepped away from you and you raised your eyes to his, ready and willing to say something scathing back but one look in his eyes and the words turned to bitter ash on your tongue. The way he looked at you, there was no anger in his gaze; no resentment. He just looked… _tired_. Like he was playing a part, fighting back against insults hurled his way because it was expected of him. It was a feeling you could empathise with, playing your part, being the snarky one because it was easier than trying to be nice.

He was right. The only true difference between you and Loki was that he was a god and you were a mortal. You both wanted to be more than everyone thought you were, you both wanted to be seen, and you both fell into the roles people expected you to play. Maybe you had pushed him a bit too far. Yes, he had started out by trying to kill you, but he hadn’t. And no matter how it happened, you were in this situation together.

“For what it’s worth, Thor told us that there were people in Asgard who knew you weren’t Odin, but they didn’t care. You were so good at being a King that the people were willing to turn a blind eye. The universe might not owe you a crown Loki, but you do deserve one.” You said, apologising without saying you were sorry.

He reeled back slightly, taken aback by your words. His eyes searched yours, looking for the mockery or dishonesty. When he didn’t find any malice, his eyes softened.

“You’re forgiven, Vænn.” He said gently, seeing your statement for what it was.

It should have been disconcerting how easily Loki could read you, but it was actually almost comforting and you smiled softly at him. 

“Sooner or later we are bound to land somewhere with advanced technology, or at least some kind of technology you can use. Then you can try your plan, and I will work on my Seiðr.” He acquiesced.

“It would still be easier if you let me go back to Earth, but I’ll make do. If… you swear to me that once this is over, you’ll take me home.” You bartered.

He considered it, not taking his eyes off of you while he turned over your proposal in his head.

“Very well Vænn, I give you my word that if you help me recapture The Tesseract then I will use it to take you wherever you wish to go. But do not even consider betraying me.”

Pushing away from the wall and ignoring the trembling in your limbs, spoke with a strength you didn’t have at that moment.

“If you don’t want to trust me, trust my ambition. I can reign in The Tesseract, I can control the infinity stone.”

~~~

“When I said you could come back once you’d rested, I didn’t mean for you to just come straight back here.” Tony announced as soon as the elevator doors opened onto your lab.

Peter looked over guilty, waiting for Tony to notice he wasn’t alone.

“What’s he doing here?” Tony demanded as soon as he recognized the figure in the centre of the lab. 

“Stark.” Dr Strange acknowledged.

“I just kept thinking that I knew what had happened when Loki took her and how the security camera’s were all down because there was no power, so we can’t see what happened. Then I realised, maybe we can. And if we know what happened and how, we can start to fix it.” Peter explained, looking more rested but no less worried.

“Slow down kid, what’s the wizard got to do with this?” Tony frowned.

“I can look back through time and we can see for ourselves what happened.” Strange answered, walking around the room with a discerning gaze.

“That’s… actually that’s genius.” Tony admitted, clapping Peter on the shoulder with pride.

Thor had said that you willingly walked to The Tesseract, but that made no sense. And Loki didn’t have the sceptre anymore, so he couldn’t have been controlling you. It might not help but Tony definitely wanted to know what had happened, why you had done what you done, and until Thor and The Avengers who had gone to Asgard returned, he didn’t have any other leads.

“I assume that means you want my help in finding out what happened to your wayward protégé?” Strange sarked.

“Yeah, yeah Gandalf. Let us see what magic those hands of yours can do.” Tony snorted, ignoring Peter’s soft exclamation of disgust.

“I won’t need my hands, The Time Stone should be open a window into the past that we can look through. We will only be able to watch though, neither she nor Loki can see or hear us.” Strange warned, holding up the pendant around his neck that the Infinity Stone was encased in.

“We just need to see.” Peter agreed quickly.

Strange nodded and Peter and Tony moved to stand behind him as the room was washed in a soft green glow. At first nothing happened, but then you, Loki and Thor appeared. You almost looked real, almost, but when the light sone on you it revealed that you weren’t corporeal, you were more like a ghost.

Tony felt bile rise in his throat as he saw the fear in your eyes as Loki pinned you to the wall. He wanted nothing more than to cross the room and rip that knife away from your throat, the thin rivulets of blood that oozed from your skin making him want to kill Loki more than ever. He knew it was just as bad, if not worse for Peter and spared a worried glance for the kid. Peter was watching the scene with an expression that was equal parts anger and horror.

“There’s The Tesseract.” Strange announced as the ghostly ceiling collapsed.

The three men focused on the visage of you, sheltered behind Loki as debris rained down on you. When you looked up, you looked directly at The Tesseract, your eyes widening in surprise. Loki stepped forward and you followed, mimicking his movements almost exactly. And then you stopped, cocking your head to the side and looking at something on the other side of the room, your brow creasing at whatever it was.

“What is she looking at?” Peter questioned, turning around to see if he could spot what had gotten your attention.

“Look at her.” Strange snapped.

The Doctor very deliberately took a large step to the side, your eyes following him, transfixed on his chest.

“Is she looking at.. The Time Stone?” Tony whispered.

“That’s impossible. Right?” Peter demanded.

“It would appear not.” Strange answered, as your eyes very clearly flashed green and you nodded.

You turned back to The Tesseract, the green being replaced with blue instantly and you reached for The Tesseract with Loki.

As soon as you disappeared the vision faded away.

“What the hell did we just see?” Tony snapped.

Strange seemed to mull it over, thinking carefully before he answered but there was no real room for doubt in his mind. Not with the way your eyes had glowed the colour of two Infinity Stones, even the one that had been in the future.

“It would seem she is being controlled by The Infinity Stones.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki: *Breathes*  
> Princess: Loki, you bitch.


	8. Dangerous

She stood in the centre of her cell with her back to them, commanding the space like a were a stage. Her shoulder blades were bare, the open back forest-green gown draped across her ample exposing the smooth skin and relaxed muscles of her shoulders. She knew they were there, but showed no sign of caring as they approached the cell. Not until she turned her head slightly, golden hair cascading down her shoulder as she moved. Through the golden waterfall, a red smirk was barely visible.

“What interesting visitors you have brought for me, my prince.” She purred, addressing Thor.

“Amora.” The god greeted tersely.

She turned around fully, arms held out at her side as if to allow her visitors to bask in her beauty. Still, she barely spared them a glance, her eyes briefly flickering over Wanda before they went straight back to Thor.

“Have you come to needle me about what I know about The Tesseract?” She teased, eyes positively glowing with delight.

Steve and Bucky exchanged a look, unsure of what to do. As strange as life had gotten for them, walking through the Golden Palace of Asgard was still something that needed an adjustment period, and now they were standing to the side while Thor took charge of the interrogation.

“So you do know about it? Did you plot this scheme with my brother?” Thor demanded, fist clenching at his side.

“With Loki? No, he’s as clueless as you are. If he’s even still alive.” She scoffed.

“Alive? What are you speaking of, witch? What has Loki gotten himself in to?” Thor asked, swallowing thickly.

None of the others cared much if Loki was in over his head, but he had one of theirs with him so they listened closely.

“You don’t know? I knew you were slow but this is just too much.” Amora laughed, truly amused.

“Amora.” Thor warned harshly.

“Thor.” She shot back with a saccharine smirk.

“What do you know?” Steve interjected, drawing her gaze away from Thor and onto him.

She moved gracefully across the cell, approaching the barrier until it was all that separated her from him, her eyes dancing over him and drinking him in.

“Many things, you’ll have to be more specific.” She drawled, unashamedly ogling him.

“How is Loki controlling The Tesseract and what is he planning?” Thor pressed, unperturbed.

“Ohhh, you really think Loki is controlling The Tesseract? That this is all his doing? He was quite comfortable on the throne until my presence in Asgard drove him from this realm.” Amora tittered, eyes glassing over as she relived her inconvenience to Loki. “I knew that he wouldn’t risk using his magic against me for fear of revealing himself, and that he would seek answers on Midgard.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Wanda asked; speaking for the first time and eliciting a sigh from The Enchantress.

For the first time Amora dropped her little act and squared her shoulders, raising her chin defiantly.

“I knew because it was fate, it just needed a little help unfolding. Loki was destined to go to your realm and find the other piece. The universe willed it, and I was compelled to see it done.” She announced, her voice filled with surety.

“Enough of your riddles, speak clearly Amora.” Thor snapped.

“Well I thought I was, but clearly you have not grown wiser since we last met.” She snapped back disdainfully.

“The other piece of what?” Vision asked curiously.

“I don’t know, it wasn’t important. I just knew I had a part to play and even I can not turn my back on fate. Loki is not in control of this journey and nor can he escape it. Events are unfolding already, the universe grows darker and there is nothing you can do, nothing any of us can do. However, if it is answers you seek then look within.” She told him reverently, raising her hand lithely in the air as if she were tracing her fingers across his face, her eyes fixed on The Infinity Stone in his forehead.

The clear barrier shimmered gold and turned opaque, removing Amora from view.

“You will get no more out of her than that. I suspect Amora does not truly know why she did what she did, though she would be loathe to admit it.” A voice sounded behind them, and as one they turned around.

“Father.” Thor said respectfully, stepping forward to stand before the tired looking King.

“My son.” Odin greeted.

“Your majesty.” Steve said respectfully.

“Captain. I understand my son seeks to work around my rules by not bringing true mortals to Asgard, but nevertheless you should not be here.”

“Your Majesty, Loki took someone from us, somebody important.” Bucky said quickly.

“It is true father. He took the ward of our friend, she is his daughter in all but blood. Loki stole her away right in front of me, I am honour bound to return her.” Thor agreed.

“You speak of the child as though she were an object. Loki took her, and you will take her back. Children are not objects.” Odin admonished.

There was a beat of silence. They all knew from Thor that Odin had plucked Loki off of a rock and raised him under a shroud of lies, and the air grew thick with derisive judgment. Odin seemed to sense it but rather than be offended he smiled, almost sadly.

“Amora is right, Heimdall has seen it. There is a growing darkness in the cosmos.” He informed them.

“What does that mean?” Vision puzzled.

“Heimdall’s gaze is infinite, but every day he sees a little less as there is less to see. At the very edges of the universe stars are being extinguished, worlds are eradicated. The darkness is growing, slowly but surely. I am sorry about the girl, but neither she nor Loki are of concern. There is a far more concerning threat looming.”

~~~Elsewhere~~~

“I love you, I do, but we need to have a serious conversation about your behaviour.” You sighed.

“What did he do now?” Loki asked from behind you, his shadow looming over you.

You looked behind you to see him standing there, peering over your shoulder at Winnie.

“He sneezed so hard he gave himself a fright and fell off the bench.” You winced, shaking your head in mock disappointment.

Winnie ignored your admonishments, scarpering over the ground to the pile of flowers before you. The fuzzy children had kept handing you them and even you weren’t cold enough to refuse them, eventually you had ended up with a pile of them in your arms. You were making good use of them though, tying stalks together to make…

“This is for you.” You cooed at Winnie, placing the tiny flower crown atop his head.

He blinked curiously at you, his claws gently probing at it. A high pitched squeak erupted from him and you took that as a good sign, laughing softly as he toddled off into the bushes he’d spent all day exploring.

“For eons Grofflink’s have been warriors, even when they were used for nothing more than idle sport. After only a few days with you, yours is a pampered brat who wear flowers.” Loki scoffed.

“Don’t be jealous, I can make one for you as well.” You tutted.

“Please, don’t.” He said flatly.

“Why not? I thought you desperately wanted a crown?” You teased turning around to wiggle your eyebrows at him.

“You know nothing of what I want.” He said, rolling his eyes and gracefully draping himself across the bench Winnie had sneezed himself off of.

“So tell me.” You shrugged.

“Pardon?”

“What do you want?” You prodded.

Even as you asked you realised you might not want to know. Spending time with him, alone, away from everyone else; It was so easy to forget that he was technically a super-villain. He was just Loki, who was perpetually annoyed, dignified, and hated cold soup (you’d learned that when you tried to give him a bowl of soup that wasn’t thoroughly piping hot). Loki, your would be killer who had held onto you when The Tesseract stole you, who had come after you when you ran away and into danger, who had stood in front of an all-consuming deathwave to buy you just a few more minutes of life, who had nursed you back to health when you were unconscious. He was complex and though you loathed to admit it; alluring. But he wanted to rule, to be a King. When he regained control of The Tesseract there was no telling what he would do with it.

“The very same thing you do Vænn.” He told you easily.

“I highly doubt that.” You muttered, careful to shoot him a soft smile so he knew there was no venom in it

“Oh Vænn, you can deny it but I saw it in your eyes when you had me trapped in your little prison.”

“Saw what?” You asked suspiciously.

You didn’t know what he could have seen, and you didn’t know why butterflies erupted in your stomach, your palms growing damp as a vicious bout of nerves overtook you. He leaned forward with a conspiratorial look.

“Your desire.” He whispered. 

“My what now? What? Desire? No. What? No.” You shrieked.

He leant back with a satisfied expression, a smug smirk adorning his face.

“There’s no need to be ashamed, after all I feel the same way.” He assured.

“Huh?” You gasped, your neck growing warm.

“You and I Vænn, our desires are evenly matched.”

You swallowed thickly, hoping he couldn’t hear the hammering of your heart. You were still confused, because if he was implying what you thought he was implying then he was so far off base. He was. You didn’t desire… You _didn’t_.

“Recognition. The admiration we deserve. We both desire a world where we are seen and admired.” He said, his words taking a long second to register with you. 

“Ohhhhhhh.” You laughed breathlessly, relief washing over you.

“What did you think I meant?” He smirked, eyes piercing through you.

You narrowed your eyes at him as if you could glare him to death. That smug, swarmy little…

“What is your little beast doing?” Loki questioned.

You looked around, locating Winnie by the small rumbling sound he was making. A brief flash of brown scarpered across the floor, dashing towards the perplexed god.

“Winnie, no!” You yelped, grabbing a hold of him as he ran past you.

Winnie wriggled in your hand, flower crown knocked askew, claws outstretched towards Loki and teeth bared in his direction. He seemed determined to get out of your grasp so he could attack the god that was at least 300x the size of him. You realised what was happening a sniggered.

“We’re bonded! He knows you’re annoying me.” You guffawed.

It figured that the first time Winnie showed any signs of savagery, it would be towards Loki. Loki rolled his eyes, either at you or Winnie or both of you.

“Come on god of lies, tell me the truth. What do you _really_ want?” You pressed, scratching Winnie’s neck until he stopped growling and went limp in your hand, enjoying his scritches.

There had to be more to him than just a power-hungry egomaniac. You didn’t know why you needed there to be more to him, you just did.

“At this moment, all I truly desire is to destroy whomever is meddling with me.” He admitted.

“Are we sure whoever it is wants you dead? Yes they sent you to a planet that was mid-apocalypse, but what danger was there to you at the casino, or here?” You mused.

He seemed to ponder it, tilting his head to watch you playing with Winnie as he feel deep into thought.

“I mean, this place seems pretty harmless so far but since The Tesseract hasn’t reappeared then we haven’t run across whatever terrible thing awaits us here.” You pointed out.

You weirdly hoped whatever it was got a move on. You’d been glad for the respite, but you were feeling better now and restlessness was setting in. You wanted to get on with it, defying whatever was thrown your way until you ended up on a world that had the kind of stuff you needed to recapture The Tesseract. All you had to do until then was survive, that was it.

“If whomever is controlling The tesseract really wanted us dead then they could simply drop us into the void of space, or onto the surface of a burning star.” Loki said quietly, still staring at you.

“Then why haven’t they?” You asked worriedly.

He pushed off from the bench, kneeling beside you on the ground as he studied you intently.

“Loki? Whatcha doin?” You asked nervously, leaning away from him.

“You’re right. I was in no danger in the Casino, but _you_ were. When we shook hands and I agreed to protect you we were taken to a dying world. When that failed we were brought here.” He whispered, staring at you.

A prickle of unease slithered down your spine, like someone had just walked across your grave. Something in his mind seemed to click into place and he sat back on his heels, stunned.

“It’s not me they are trying to kill. It’s you, Vænn. This is all about you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, I know I’ve not been updating all the regularly but I’ve had quite a lot in here in my world. Haven’t had a lot of brain space left over for writing, and what I do have has been scattered between my original works (Something Wicked is on Ao3 and Tumblr btw! *hint hint*) BUT I finally got the wave of inspiration I needed for this story and all the pieces have fallen into place. I am now really excited again! Yay. I think yay? Are you guys still into this story? Did you like this chapter?


	9. The Riddle

“Are you insane? This can not be about me!” You yelped, Winnie bouncing around in your pocket as you strode away from Loki.

“Then why are you at the centre of everything that’s happening?” He asked smoothly, calmly following you into the small home.

“I’m at the centre of things because I am stuck with you, you’re the one with enemies up the wazzoo. Nobody wants me dead, fucking _everybody_ wants you dead! Me? I’m a nobody.” You scoffed, walking around the room in a circle and then walking straight back into the garden you’d just vacated.

“You work for Stark.” He pointed out, falling into step behind you. 

“Me and 5000 other people, and that’s in New York alone. There is nothing special about me, nothing noteworthy at all. The closest thing I have to an enemy is that barista who hates me because I never know what I’m going to order but even if she had the power to kill me I doubt she would because I tip really well!” You shrieked, punctuation a distant memory as you barely paused to breathe. “Even if you were right, which by the way you aren’t, I’m human. I’m really breakable. Killing me doesn’t require an Infinity Stone. In fact… if someone wanted me dead all they had to do was wait thirty seconds in the lab and you would have bled me out!”

“That is a good point.” Loki conceded.

“Yes! Yes, it is a good point!” You agreed emphatically, nodding vigorously.

“The fact remains that all of these events have been centred on you, not me. The Tesseract landed in your laboratory, took you to a planet unsafe for mortals, arrived again when you were on the verge of collapse and took you here.” He listed defiantly.

“Honestly, it sounds more like someone is trying to save my life, not end it. They saved me from you, and arrived before the casino guards could find me, took us here where I’ve been able to rest. The only part that doesn’t make sense is deserting us on a mid-apocalyptic world.” You realised.

“Maybe whomever it is, _is_ trying to save you.” He said speculatively, looking you over.

“Save me why? Save me for _what_?”

**~~~Earth~~~**

“Loki isn’t controlling The Tesseract.” Steve announced.

The second they had arrived back from Asgard all of The Avengers had convened, gathering in the main living room to hear what they had learned.

“Well that’s a relief, because the Infinity Stones are controlling our wayward Princess.” Tony countered.

“What?” Several people voiced, The Avengers standing across from each other looking more than a little confused.

“Wait, Loki isn’t behind this?” Natasha asked sharply.

“Did you say the Infinity Stones are controlling her, plural?” Bucky pressed.

“Strange popped by, gave us a glance at what happened in the lab using the Time Stone. Somehow she saw the Time Stone, she saw it in the future or something and her eyes went all green, then she looked at The Tesseract and her eyes went blue.” Tony tried to explain.

That revelation shut everyone up for a brief moment.

“Amora and Odin both alluded that Loki is not in control of the situation. Amora said that she drove Loki to this realm so he might find ‘the missing piece’.” Wanda broke the silence to reveal.

“The missing piece of what?” Peter asked with trepidation.

“She wasn’t as forthcoming with that part.” Thor admitted. 

“Amora said if I wished to find answers I must look within. I believe she was referring to this.” Vision stated, touching the Infinity Stone in his forehead.

“This is all somehow tied into the Infinity Stones and the mysterious danger, but what the hell do they want with Princess?” Tony murmured, rubbing his temples, plagued by a problem he could not solve.

“I think we can safely guess that she is the missing piece, though not of what.” Wanda said.

“Wait, Amora said Loki needed the missing piece. Does that mean The Tesseract needed Loki to lead it to our girl, or did it need Loki as well? And if he’s not behind this, what exactly is his part in it?”

**~~~Not Earth~~~**

You chewed your lip contemplatively, turning back to Loki who had his eyes fixed on you. He was spread out on the bench, draped across it like it was a throne and not a worn down wooden garden feature.

“The Tesseract drained all the power from The Tower, which by the way; did not know it could do. They wanted you out of your cell. Whoever this is, their motives are really fucking hard to decipher but I really think they’re more focused on you than on me.” You told him.

He leaned back on the bench, jerking his head slightly in your direction to show he’d heard you.

“I might wish I was important, but I’m not.” You whispered softly, a self-deprecating smile tugging at your lips.

“You are more important than you know. Perhaps that is why I can see you as the potential crux of this situation but you can not.” He argued gently, almost complimenting you.

“Even if you’re right, and I don’t think you are, we can’t know for sure. Not while we’re out here trying to survive this mess without an upper-hand.”

“Very well then, we stick to our plan and reclaim The Tesseract for ourselves. Then we can find out who was controlling it and why, and we can make it right.” He suggested viciously.

You shook your head at the bloodthirsty glint in his eyes, pacing across the smooth stones between the bushes, carefully watching Winnie out of the corner of your eye as he collected a small pile of stray leaves.

“You might have naysayed it, but I haven’t ruled out The Tesseract malfunctioning. I also haven’t ruled out you lying about everything and being behind this.” You told him as you passed by the bench.

He turned his head sharply to look at you, anger and hurt swirling behind his eyes like storm clouds until he saw the teasing smirk on your face.

“What? You did say I was pretty, maybe this is all a ploy to spend more time with me.” You reminded him, fluttering your eyelashes dramatically.

Something you hadn’t yet seen on him lit up his eyes, his lips curling up at the edges enticingly even as he rolled his eyes at your little game.

“Behave yourself Vænn.” He warned.

“That wasn’t a denial.” You pointed out gleefully.

He’d had his fun, now it was your turn to see how he liked being teased.

**~~~Earth~~~**

“How can the Infinity Stones be controlling her? Is that even possible? I thought only the Mind Stone could do that.” Natasha pointed out, gesturing at Vision.

“Wanna fess up to anything?” Tony asked Vision jokingly.

“I…” Vision tilted his head in his version of a befuddled frown.

“Vis?” Wanda pressed gently, slipping her hand into his.

He looked down at their intertwined fingers, taking reassurance from the act before he looked back over at Tony.

“I spent many hours with her, sometimes whole days. I never questioned why I was drawn to her but now I can not help but wonder. I think… Yes, I do believe I was inadvertently and unknowingly preparing her mind for the other Infinity Stones.” Vision admitted.

His confession was met with silence, a mixture of confusion and worry passing over the team and settling over them like a thick fog.

“Where is Strange now?” Steve asked.

“He went back to Hogwarts, something about books and looking for information.” Tony shrugged, still eyeing Vision speculatively.

“We may need him because there’s more. Odin said that whatever’s going on, it isn’t important right now.” Steve geared up to tell them.

“He said what?” Tony snapped, thoroughly affronted.

“Stark, Heimdall had grave news for us. The universe is in danger.” Thor told them, an apologetic expression aimed at Tony.

“Universe is in danger, got it. It’ll have to wait, it picked a bad time.” Tony groaned.

“Oh.” Vision exclaimed softly, garnering everyone’s attention.

“Wanna share with the class?” Tony prompted.

“I can not be sure but if I had internal organs I would say I am having a gut instinct. I do not believe it is bad timing, rather perfect timing. It is all a part of the same puzzle. Perhaps the Stones are not controlling her despite the Universe being in danger, but because of it.” Vision suggested, though his surety made it less of a suggestion and more of a statement.

“Wait, you’re saying you think The Infinity Stones are targeting her _because_ the universe is in danger? They what, want Princess to save the universe?”

**~~~Not Earth~~~**

“Come on Loki, you can come clean. You orchestrated all of this didn’t you?”

He sighed wearily, unamused by your teasing but it didn’t deter you. You practically skipped around the bench until you were standing in front of him, hands on your hips as you stared him down with mock disapproval.

“Loki, is this your way of trying to get a date?” You tutted.

“My dear, sweet Vænn, if I wanted you, I assure you I would have you. I may be fond of my tricks but they would be wasted on you.” He told you, his voice a good few decibels lower than it usually was.

The low tenor of his voice coupled with the wicked glint in his eye made your silly little heart stutter in your chest, almost distracting you from the fact he had just insulted you.

“Pfft, it would take more than an Infinity Stone and all your magic combined to make me want you.” You told him defensively.

Maybe there was a teeny tiny little part of you that called bullshit on that statement, but it was very quickly beaten into submission and squashed out of existence. He gave you a challenging look and sat up, putting him closer to you than you wanted. It was only pride that stopped you stepping away.

“It didn’t take much convincing for you to accept my friendship. Your hatred of me does not run as deep as you try to convince yourself.” He practically purred.

You scoffed loudly, thinking up a scathing rebuttal when all thought and reasoning was driven out of your head. It started gently, the rumbling beneath your feet, like the vibrations when a large truck drove by you. Then there was the loudest crash you had ever heard, an almost sonic boom that made the room shudder violently. You were thrown off balance by it, your ears ringing and head spinning. Loki’s reflexes were fasted than yours and his arm quickly shot out to steady you, halting your fall when your skull was centimetres away from the sharp wooden edge of the bench.

You called out for Winnie, maybe shouting his name or whispering it, you couldn’t be sure. The colossal earthquake was ongoing, and even with Loki’s help you were struggling to stay upright. You barely even fought him as he pulled you down onto his lap, wrapping arm around your waist securely.

As quickly as it started, the earthquake or whatever it was stopped. The room stopped moving, but your head was still buzzing, all you could hear was your own blood pumping through your veins, rushing through your body at the whim of your thundering heart. You looked up at Loki, meeting his gaze filled with trepidation. Without breaking eye contact with him you raised your arm and pointed in the direction the explosive noise had come from.

“What the fuck was that?”

He’d been pale to start with but now he looked positively ashen. Without saying a word he reached up to put his finger on your chin and tilt your head so you were looking at the bamboo slats of the opposite wall. Through the gaps you could see the world outside, the fields of green grass and flowers. There was something else now though, something that hadn’t been there before. You gasped, ice forming in your gut and sending a chill through your blood.

There, on the horizon, was a thick line of black. Just like the last world you had been to.

Another deathwave.


	10. Total Eclipse Of The Heart

“Loki, Loki, what the fuck?” You whisper shouted.

“As loathe as I am to admit it, I do not know. At this point, your guess is as good as mine.” He admitted.

You tore your eyes away from the terror on the horizon to look at him, finding his face closer than you expected because as you were now realising, you were still safely ensconced on his lap. He looked as confused as you felt, though not a fraction as afraid.

“Winnie? Winnie, where are you?” You stammered, sliding off of Loki’s lap.

After an initial tightening of his grip he released you and you crawled along the floor, peering into bushes for any sign of your Grofflink. The pitter patter of feet sounded and you looked up to see one of the furry children barrelling towards you, terrified squeals erupting from it. You lifted your arm and caught it, holding it against your side as you continued searching for Winnie. The poor thing was practically vibrating it was shaking so hard and you hummed soothing noises at it as you frantically looked around.

You eventually found Winnie huddled under a pile of leaves. As soon as he saw you he scampering over, catapulting himself onto you. You clutched him against your chest and stood up, grasping the little alien by the shoulder and trying to get it to look at you.

“Ok, hi little one. It’s going to be ok but I need you to go and find everybody else and gather them, alright?” You instructed, sounding much braver than you felt.

It nodded vigorously and shot off, presumably, hopefully to find the rest of its kind.

“Loki, take Winnie.” You ordered, holding him out to Loki.

“What exactly are you going to do?” Loki snapped incredulously.

“Um… Collect all the fuzzy things and, I don’t know, run? Find some kind of vehicle or something so we can stay ahead of the deathwave. If it’s like the last one it’ll stop once it hits the point of origin. We just need to get behind it.” You panted, your eyes darting back and forth as you tried to figure out what you _could_ do.

“Vænn, this isn’t like the last time. You can not cross an entire planet to outrun it.” He hissed, acting like you were being a fool.

You swallowed thickly and looked back towards it. He was right, you weren’t going to be able to outrun it. You could already feel the soft tremors in the ground and hear the distant destruction. You would say it was at most five miles away.

“Why is this happening?” You gasped, damn near collapsing back onto the bench.

“I don’t know. Yet.”

“Loki is it following us? Did we bring it here? Did we do this?” You asked him, nearly choking on the words.

“No.” He said emphatically.

You doubled over, almost dry-heaving. You didn’t understand why this was happening, or how, and you didn’t know how the hell to fix it. For someone who spent their life writing codes and fixing bugs, it was a horrible sensation. You belonged in a lab, in front of a computer screen; not gallivanting across the universe and trying to outrun death. You weren’t cut out for this, you weren’t a hero, you didn’t know how to save anybody, you could barely save yourself. You were just a stupid girl with more ambition than sense that was in wayyyy over her head.

“BREATHE!” Loki yelled, shaking you.

You glanced at his hand on your shoulder and the worry on his face and only then did you realise you’d been hyperventilating. Judging by the fact he was knelt on the ground in front of you and yelling in your face, he’d been trying to get you to breathe for some time. He realised he’d managed to get your attention and jumped on the opportunity, clasping the back of your head so you couldn’t look away from him.

“Listen to me Vænn, whatever is happening is not your fault. You did not do this and whoever did will pay, I swear to you, but for Norns sake woman, _breathe_!” He instructed.

You nodded shakily and dragged a lungful of oxygen in, forcing your body to do it’s job. You felt tiny little claws rake through your hair and petted Winnie back with a trembling hand. The ground was fully shaking, the ear-splitting clamour of the deathwave rocking through the garden that had not long ago been a sanctuary. You had wasted too much time, you barely had minutes left.

“That’s it darling, just breathe for me.” He coaxed gently, using his voice to keep you tethered.

“What are we going to do?” You whispered, praying he had an answer, because lord knows you had none.

And then you had an answer in the form of a glowing blue cube that materialized next to you.

“About time. Let’s go.” Loki grumbled, pulling you to your feet.

You quickly untangled Winnie from your shirt and forcibly made Loki take him, planting your heels to keep your balance.

“I need to get the fuzzy things. I can’t leave them.” You explained apologetically, turning away.

“There is an entire planet full of those things, and you can not save them all. We don’t have the time. Vænn if you try to save them then all you will succeed in doing is dying alongside them.” Loki snapped, grabbing a hold of your wrist and yanking you back.

“I have to try!” You snapped back, imploring him to understand.

His jaw clenched and he sighed heavily, his head dropping.

“I know you do.” He whispered sadly, releasing you.

“Thankyou.” You croaked, turning your back on him again.

And then his arm wrapped around your waist and he lifted you off the ground, your feet dangling and he carried you towards The Tesseract.

“LOKI NO!” You screamed, thrashing wildly.

You didn’t stand a chance in hell against him. He didn’t falter in his stride, his strength in one arm more than enough to subdue you. You scratched and elbowed him, screaming yourself hoarse to no avail. Your vision was filled with the now almost familiar blue and your last glace of the planet on the brink of destruction was oncoming deathwave as it crashed through the garden wall.

The next thing you were looking at was a moon, or part of it. Chunks of glowing rock littered the dark azure sky above you and you were gently set down on a dust ground, swaying as Loki stepped away from you. Winnie scarpered over to you, digging his claws into the material of your clothes and climbing up your body until he was sat on your shoulder, his furry little body pressed into your neck as he tried to cuddle you.

You fell to your knees, your hands pressed to your mouth in an effort to contain the sobs that wracked through you. You had failed.

An entire planet, a whole word, dead. Because you had failed it.

You hands muffled the garbled broken scream that tore from your throat and the full weight of the tragedy that had just occurred settled over you like a suffocating blanket. 

You had promised that childlike alien everything would be alright, sent it away to gather its friends and wait for you. They had been waiting for you to save them and you had wasted valuable by breaking down. They were all dead now, because of your weakness.

You hands fell away and your breath puffed out in little white clouds at it hit the freezing air around you. Something soft settled on your shoulders and you saw the green material spilling down your shoulders. Loki’s cloak.

Loki.

“You _bastard_!” You screamed, tearing the cloak off of your shoulders and tossing it on the ground.

“I think a thank you would be more appropriate, I did just save your life.” He snarked back as you shot to your feet.

You rounded on him, practically snarling in his face.

“You had no right! None!”

“What kind of friend would I be if I let you die?” He rebutted calmly.

“We are _not_ friends!” You roared, your voice tearing through the wind violently.

He went deathly still, frozen in statuesque shock at the venom in your words. Even though you immediately felt guilty for saying it, you couldn’t take it back. It really didn’t matter that he could be almost pleasant at times, or that he made you want to smile with his playful mischievous banter. It didn’t matter that he was kind of beautiful when you took the time to actually look at him, or that he held an entire universe of emotion in his eyes. It meant nothing that he kept you thinking, kept you moving, challenged you.

He was the god who had tried to take over your planet and nearly laid waste to it in the process, and even if you could look past that, he had almost killed you three times.

“How can I be your friend Loki? You’re ruthless, and you _scare_ me. The only reason I’m still alive is because you might need me, you can’t build a friendship on that kind of foundation.”

He blinked thrice rapidly and raised his chin, his spine straightening as he raised himself to his full height and glared back at you. His mouth opened and you braced yourself for his wicked tongue to lash back at you but ever the surprise, he wasn’t vicious at all.

“If there were ever one person in the cosmos I did not want to fear me, it would be you Vænn.” He protested, a thread of almost desperation laced into his melancholy tone.

You could have taken anger, you would have preferred it. His sadness was what made you snap, adding another drop of self-loathing into the bottomless well inside you. The dark septic waters of your hatred for yourself poisoned your already sour mood and you took it out on him.

“Stop it, stop calling me that stupid name!” You screamed, turning your back on him and wiping furiously at the tears running down your face.

They just kept pouring though. Useless tears for a world you’d been unable to save. Deep down you knew the truth, that Loki was right. You couldn’t have done anything, you couldn’t have stopped it, and if he hadn’t have dragged you away you’d have just died trying. But you’d wanted to at least try. You were frail and mortal, you weren’t a hero; not even close, so why did you get to survive all of this destruction and nobody else did?

“It means you are beautiful. Beautiful and full of promise.”

His voice was just a whisper, but it pierced the night air sharply, making you jolt. You half-turned, looking at him through tear-clouded eyes. The persistent beam of moonlight that had broken through the thick clouds illuminated him so even through blurry vision you could see the sadness in his smile. His arms were held out to the side, a physical representation of how unguarded he was in the moment, as he laid bare the truth.

“When you told me if I killed you it would be because of your actions I saw the truth of you. In that moment I saw your soul and I found it to be breathtaking and brimming with potential. I call you Vænn because that is what you are, you are beautiful in every sense of the word.”

Your chest might be heaving but it didn’t feel like you were breathing. In the last few days alone you had been through so much, enough to break almost anyone. Now here you were, facing a god who was telling you he thought you were beautiful. And though he may be the god of lies, the truth was written all over his face and you knew this wasn’t a trick. This should have been the straw that broke the camels back, the thing that tipped you over the edge of insanity, but his gaze pulled you back from the brink and his words steadied the ground beneath your feet. All of the anger you’d been using to mask your fear and sadness was drained away. The barbed sass, the viciousness, it all ebbed out of you and a bittersweet calm was left behind.

You went to him, without considering it, without overthinking it, you just went to him. Your pace was slow and steady and you could see the apprehension written in his frown until you couldn’t see his face anymore, because your head was pressed against his shoulder. Your arms wrapped around him and he stilled beneath your touch, waiting for the other shoe to drop. You didn’t say a word, just held him against your body and you felt no apprehension about how right it felt. The thick clouds overhead drifted through the sky, shards of moonlight breaking through them and danced over you, marking the passage of time until tentatively his arms snaked around you, holding you gently; like he was afraid if he pressed too hard you would shatter.

“I’m sorry Loki. I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t tell you were forgiven, but the steady thrum of his heartbeat against your cheek as he held you closer said it for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, i think I broke myself with this chapter. I sobbed while writing it. Properly sobbed. I'm more terrified about the reaction to this chapter than anything else I have ever written though (I'm not even exaggerating) so please, please, please I need to know your reactions.


	11. Chain Reaction

For the longest time you just stood there holding Loki, and being held by him. A deep aching sadness filled you, but you knew you were going to be able to keep moving despite it. You were still absolutely devastated by what you had just left behind but you weren’t angry with him at all anymore. He’d had no choice. Well… Actually he did have a choice. He could have abandoned you. You unconsciously nuzzled further into him, affection for him washing over you. In an ideal world, you would still be on Earth, you wouldn’t be in the middle of these devastating events. But since you were here and having to deal with them, you were grateful Loki was with you.

_Vænn._ He thought you were beautiful. Not physically, but in your soul, where it mattered. He thought you were full of promise. It was one small word but it held so much weight, so much meaning. It meant that Loki believed in you, and if a literal god believed in you then there was nothing you couldn’t do.

You had your god, you had your Grofflink, and you were going to be alright. No matter what happened, you were going to be alright. You weren’t going to let them down and no force on Heaven or Earth, Infinity Stone or otherwise was going to beat you down.

You tilted your head so you could look at him, smiling at the look of peace on his face. His eyes were closed and all of the lines of his face had been smoothed away, making him look younger and softer.

“You should wear the cloak.” He murmured without opening his eyes.

It was cold, he was right that you needed it. It wasn’t an arctic kind of cold though, or a wintery one. It was a deep, unsettling, quiet kind of cold.

“What about you?” You asked him.

“I don’t feel the cold like your kind do.” He said, traces of his frown returning.

You reluctantly pulled away from him and instinctively reached up to pet Winnie, frowning when you couldn’t feel him.

“Winnie?” You frantically patted yourself down, growing more concerned by the second.

“Ahem.”

You looked up, befuddled by Loki’s actions as he pulled open his jacket, until you saw the lump in his breast pocket. Sometime during your embrace, Winnie had climbed off of you and into Loki’s pocket instead. If you listened closely you could her the tiny little snores emanating from the snoozing little bear.

“I presume any lingering violent tendencies you had toward me have dissipated.” He noted, amusement colouring his tone.

You rolled your eyes so heavily you almost saw your own brain and picked up the discarded cloak off the ground.

“Shut up.” You muttered, looking anywhere except at the source of embarrassment as you swung the thick green material over your shoulders.

God, you were ridiculous. He called you beautiful and you turned into a koala bear, clinging onto him. You could still see him out of the corner of your eye grinning smugly at you and you couldn’t help the way your lips twitched, until you actually realised what you were looking at.

As far as the eye could see, everything was grey and lifeless, rocks crumbled to powder underneath your feet. You knelt on the dusty ground and picked up a small pebble, marvelling at the way it fell apart between your fingers.

“Is this planet, you know, dead?” You asked, knowing the answer.

“We have seen a world in the throes of destruction, a world on the brink of destruction and now it would appear we are on a world that was destroyed prior to our arrival.” Loki confirmed heavily, turning you to face him with a gentle hand on your shoulder.

He pulled the cloak tightly around you and fastened it, making sure you were sufficiently protected from the chill, like a doting mother hen. You looked back up at the moon, or what was left of it. It had crumbled as well, just like this planet was doing. Craning your neck you gazed around, studying the sky. On the other side of the sky there were more chunks of rock floating above the world and you couldn’t help but wonder if the planet itself was breaking apart.

“ _What_ is going on?” You asked softly, more to yourself than to Loki.

“Everytime I think I know, another piece of the puzzle is revealed. It is becoming quite tireseome.” He sighed.

“Is whoever’s causing the deathwaves the same person flinging us about space, or is whoever it just taking advantage of them?” You wondered.

Even as you said it, you knew it wasn’t right. If someone was trying to kill you both, or just Loki, then why send The Tesseract back in time to save you? Why send you here, to a world already taken by the malevolent force?

“Vænn.”

“I still can’t believe I thought that was an insult when in actuality it’s the Asgardian equivalent of ‘hey sexy’.” You scoffed.

He exhaled heavily and shook his head in exasperation.

“Sorry. What’s up?” You asked, smirking.

He looked past you, nodding his head toward something in the distance.

“What? Interesting shaped rock catch your attention? I don’t see anything.” You shrugged, squinting in the direction he was looking.

He started walking, waving for you to follow.

“I know this suggestion is a bit out there, but you could just tell me what you’re thinking. You don’t need to walk mysteriously into the distance.” You snorted, following him anyway.

It wasn’t like you had many other choices. Besides, he still had Winnie in his pocket. You ran to catch up to him, slowing to a jog as you fell into step beside him.

“There’s someone there.” He explained, eyes fixed ahead.

“What, really?” You frowned, a lot more interested.

You increased your pace, curiosity driving you forward. It took a lot of meters before your eyesight caught up to his and you could see the blurry figure in the far distance. Only, they were further away than you initially realised because as you drew closer you gradually cottoned on to what you were seeing. The motionless figure that was standing between two large rocks was huge, towering above the ground. They didn’t move as you approached, not even glancing at you. You studied them, on alert in case they were less than friendly. If you had to guess then you would say they were at least 11ft tall, with skin that was a dark midnight blue. Other than those two notable features, they were humanoidesque, with defined facial features and a bald head. Through the threadbare dusty robe they were wearing you could see the bulging defined muscles and decided that if the attacked then you had a solid plan.

Hide behind Loki.

“Hello?” You greeted quietly, crossing into their line of vision.

They minutely adjusted their gaze, blue eyes looking down at you. You waved shyly and pointed at yourself as you said your name, shooting a glare at Loki when he let out a barley audible laugh at you.

“This is… this is my friend, Loki.” You said softly.

The stranger blinked at you, and opened their mouth before they closed it again.

“What happened here?” Loki asked The Stranger.

They slowly tilted their head, regarding him blankly.

“Death came for us, and it took everything.” They finally answered.

You jumped slightly when they spoke, the creaky voice startling you.

“But not you.” Loki pointed out.

“I saw it arrive, before my very eyes. A wave of destruction as far as the eye could see. It raced away from me and took everything with it. I followed it, bearing witness to the end of my world until it left. I alone survived. Now I sit here and wait for my home to finish crumbling beneath me, until it is no more than dust that drifts through the cosmos.” The Stranger said wistfully, that whispering tone filled with so much sadness it made your eyes sting.

“How long have you been sitting here?” You asked through the lump in your throat.

“It is hard to tell the passage of time now. Many moons.” They told you, eyes fluttering closed for a moment.

You could see the pain etched on their face and approached them, unsure of what to do but knowing you needed to do something.

“This world, what was it called?” You eventually asked.

“You are standing on what is left of Taa.”

Loki drew in a deep hissing breath and stepped backwards, turning away from you and the stranger.

“Loki?”

He didn’t answer you, shaking his head and walking away deep in thought. You glanced back at The Stranger with an apologetic expression before you scurried after Loki.

“Are you alright?” You asked, hurrying in front of him so you could see his face.

He looked out of sorts, confused and a little angry. You didn’t know why, but the name of this planet had triggered something.

“Loki.” You breathed out his name, stepping closer to him and tentatively placing your hand on his arm. He glanced down at it and swallowed thickly.

“Taa is… was the oldest planet in the universe.” He explained.

Your eyes shot down to the ground beneath your feet and a new kind of sadness passed over you. The oldest planet in the whole wide universe, destroyed. It added a new layer to the tragedy.

“Loki… Why is this happening to us? Why are we being dragged across the universe to watch as it dies?” You asked, desperate to understand why the hell this was your life now.

He looked over at you, eyes searching yours.

“The Tesseract. It has shown us this for a reason.” He deduced.

“Wait, The Tesseract showed us? The Tesseract itself. You think it’s not being controlled?” You asked sharply.

He gestured at the vast empty space around you both.

“It is an Infinity Stone Vænn, and infinity is being destroyed. The universe is dying.”

You could almost hear the click as the puzzle pieces slotted together in your head. If the universe was being decimated a piece at a time then Infinity was indeed in danger. Infinity was endless and the universe was being ended. So what was an Infinity Stone going to do about it?

“Loki.” You said in awe, gazing at him. “That’s why it came for you and showed you all this. It wants you to stop it. You need to save Infinity, save the universe. Save everyone.”

“Not I. It came for us.” He corrected.

“I have nothing to do with this Loki, I’m here by accident.” You stepped away from him, shaking your head. 

“Every place we have been taken has been for a reason. We have seen how these ‘Deathwaves' end, how they begin, and what they leave behind, and only when we have seen what we are meant to see does The Tesseract reappear. There was one place we were taken that had nothing to do with the Deathwaves.”

“Conjunction.” You whispered, frowning.

“Something of note did happen on that planet though.” He reminded you, holding out his hand to you.

You gasped softly, remembering it. The moment you and Loki had shaken hands, the Tesseract had arrived.

“No.” You stated, shaking your head. “No, this can’t have anything to do with me. Why would The Tesseract want my help to save the cosmos? I’m a tech, I work with computers. What am I supposed to do, switch the universe off and switch it back on again? I mean that’s…”

You stopped dead in your tracks and looked up at the sky, to the broken moon and drifting chucks of planet and to the stars beyond.

“ _Oh_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this link on the Tumblr masterlist but I'll put it here for you guys if anyone wants it. 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1y2pZ4VEWP6LxYHStMgsOk?si=jSz0QkXuR8-w-ODk06Q9ug
> 
> This is the Spotify Playlist for the story :)


	12. Maniac

Loki was staring at you like you’d grown a second head. You waited patiently for him to process it, occupying yourself by kicking rocks and watching them explode into dust.

“You want to what?” He eventually demanded, his eyebrows raised so high that they practically merged with his hairline.

You shrugged at him, your smirk growing exponentially. Flummoxing the actual God of Chaos was satisfying as hell.

“The Infinity Stones! We just go back to before Taa was destroyed and remove the Deathwaves.” You grinned.

“We can not just go back. Even if we could, we wouldn’t be changing anything. We would just create an alternate timeline with no Deathwaves, this universe would still die out.” He argued.

“Fine, ok… Let’s not go back in time. Let’s reboot the universe. Look we can try and determine who or what is causing these Deathwaves and we can try and stop them, or we can just delete the program and rewrite it without the bug in the coding.” You tried to explain giddily.

“How?” He asked.

“We use the Infinity Stones to destroy the universe, just wipe it all out, clean slate. Then we rebuild it exactly the same way, minus Deathwaves. Nobody will even know what happened, they won’t feel a thing.” You told him.

“Are you quite mad?” He questioned, a little fearfully.

“Quite.” You agreed.

He gaped at you but you could see the spark in his eyes, he could see the (psychotic) genius in your proposed plan.

“Look, I’m not a hero. Hunting down the bad guys and kicking ass isn’t my thing. I create things, and when they don’t work I burn it all down and start again. That’s the only thing I have to offer this partnership. The universe, it’s just a really elaborate computer program. So we save all the coding, the people and the plants, download the files into the infinity stones and then we upload them to version 2.0. No time travel, no hunting down baddies, just straight up ‘saving’ the universe.” You coaxed.

“And what do I bring to this madness?” He asked, mirroring your slightly maniacal grin.

“You’re the god here, you’re not only strong enough to use the Stones, you’re the only person I can think of who’s smart and cunning enough to pull this off. This is going to take more than brawn and power. Besides, come on Loki… Don’t you want to destroy the universe?”

“This is quite literally the most insane, chaotic plan I have ever heard.” He sighed.

“Yeahhh, and you’re totally on board aren’t ya?” You needled.

He started impassively at you while he weighed it all up in his head and when the corners of his lips started to gradually curl upwards; you knew you had him.

“Very well. Say I am willing to go along with this plan of yours. How do you propose we obtain The Infinity Stones?” He challenged.

“We…” You faltered as soon as the first word was out of your mouth. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” You admitted.

“This entire mad scheme of yours hinges on us having The Infinity Stones, how have you not thought that far ahead?” He grouched.

“How am I the one doing all the work? You could do something more useful than standing around bitching and being pretty.” You shot back, crossing your arms in a sulk.

“Am I infringing on your territory? I do apologise.” He scoffed.

“How many are there again? Five?” You asked, ignoring his snide compliments.

“Six. The Space Stone, The Reality Stone, The Time Stone, The Soul Stone, The Power Stone and The Mind Stone.” He corrected, rolling his eyes at for not even knowing how many of the darned things there were.

“Well, we know where three are. The Time Stone and Mind Stone are back on Earth so that’s easy.” You shrugged. “Tessie the Space Stone is…”

And right on cue, as if summoned by your voice, The Tesseract materialised right in front of you. It spun in the air, glowing before it dimmed and dropped towards the ground. You instinctively reached out and caught it, flinching when you realised what you’d just done.

But nothing happened. You remained on Taa and The Tesseract remained in your hand.

“Found one?” You breathed out in awe, holding it up to an equally awestruck Loki.

“Vænn, how are you doing that?” He asked fearfully.

“Doing what? It just popped up, I didn’t do anything.” You said.

You tilted your head at it curiously before you realised exactly what it was you were doing. You were holding The Tesseract. You. A mortal.

“Ahh!” You yelped, dropping it.

You admittedly didn’t know that much about The Tesseract, just what you’d read from the files you hacked one afternoon and skimmed through in boredom. What you did know was that it was too powerful to be held directly by anyone human.

Loki’s eyes were burning into you suspiciously as he slowly approached and knelt down to pick it up.

“You’re human.” It wasn’t a statement, but it wasn’t a question either.

“100%. I don’t even have any Kree DNA, I got tested after those fish oil pills started turning people into husks.” You confirmed.

“What?”

  
“Oh, Inhumans. They gots little bits of alien DNA and can get superpowers. I was curious, I got my DNA tested. I am utterly, unquestionably human.”

He looked down at The Tesseract, turning it over in his hand before he looked back up at you.

“Curious.” He said softly, holding it back out to you.

“Nah. You keep it.” You grimaced, backing away fearfully.

“Just take it.” He demanded.

“No.”

“Vænn.”

“Nope, not on your fucking life - LOKI YOU BITCH!” He tossed The Tesseract at you in the middle of your sentence and you had a split second to decide whether to catch it or let it smack you in the face.

You clutched it in both hands, inches from your nose. Looking up at Loki you found him smirking at you.

“What the fuck Loki? I could have been vaporised!” You screeched.

“You weren’t.” He replied calmly.

“You didn’t know I wouldn’t be!” You protested.

“You were holding a moment ago, so I did know. I’m not sure how you’re managing it but you are. For all your arguments about how you are nothing special, you appear to attract powerful entities Vænn.” He pointed out smugly.

“You think The Tesseract has a crush on me?” You frowned.

“Not that kind of attract. You are like a magnet, pulling power into your orbit.” He said, almost… proudly?

You scoffed and opened your mouth to rebut his claim but paused and actually thought about it. Of all the places in the city, it was your window that Iron Man flew past on his way to The Tower. The intern you’d taken under your metaphorical wing turned out to be Spiderman. Vision inexplicably turned up in your lab on an almost daily basis. Earths Mightiest Heroes had taken to you without any hesitating. And then of course there was Loki.

“Huh. Guess I do attract trouble.” You snorted, regarding The Tesseract in a new light.

You knew without a doubt that you were human, nothing special about you. But apparently fate disagreed, because here you were.

“So now we have The Tesseract under our control, as it should be. There are still five more stones to obtain, and we will need The Gauntlet. Do you have a plan for talking your friends into handing the Time Stone and The Mind Stone over to us?” He prodded.

“Well, The Mind Stone is literally in Visions head so… no. And it’s not like we can just waltz up to Earth and ask them to hand the Stones over to us. It would take us months to convince them to trust you and we just don’t have that kind of time. Maybe we should leave those two till last. At least we know they’re safe. You don’t happen to have any idea where the other three are, do you?” You shrugged.

He held his hand for The Tesseract with a smirk. You happily handed it over, grateful not to be touching it anymore.

“I know exactly where The Aether is but obtaining it will not be easy. We will need to be careful, we will need a plan. I suggest we take refuge somewhere safer while we decide how to get it away from The Collector.” He told you, holding out his hand to you.

“Wait.” You said softly.

He didn’t have to ask what he was waiting for, he knew what you were planning and only rolled his eyes ever so slightly as you backed away.

“Hey, um… We’re leaving now. Would you, would you like to come with us?” You asked gently as you approached The Stranger.

They hadn’t moved since you’d wandered after Loki and they didn’t move when you spoke. Shining blue eyes gazed into the distance, bearing witness to the lingering death of their home world.

“We can take you anywhere. You don’t have to stay here.” You whispered.

“You are standing in the remains of the temple I have spent my life worshipping in. The Temple may be gone but I am not, so I remain. My world will not die unwitnessed.” They finally answered.

“Your world isn’t going to die at all. We’re going to fix this.” You promised.

Because if you could reboot the Universe, you could reboot it to the point before anything went wrong and no worlds would fall to the terrible destruction you had witnessed. You weren’t going to bring those worlds back, you were going to ensure they never fell in the first place.

If fate kept putting you in the path of powerful people, if fate had led you to Avengers tower then this was the reason. The Tesseract chose you to help Loki, and this was the only way you could think that you would be of any use.

So you didn’t feel bad as you walked away from the lonely Stranger. As you placed your hand in Loki’s, you let go of all the pain of not being able to save the fuzzy Druffs. It didn’t matter anymore, none of it mattered. You might not be a hero, but Loki could be. And you, you would be the Tech Support.

He gently scooped your slumbering Winnie from his pocket and gave him back to you, watching as you secured the little dreaming Grofflink in your own pocket before he laced his fingers with yours, and then in a blinding flash of blue you left Taa and the Stranger behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A second chapter in one day? :O 
> 
> Been a while since I pulled one of these! 
> 
> Honestly, I just got kinda giddy reading all the comments and needed to give you (and myself) more! You guys deserve all the chapters I can give for being so supportive and lovely 💖💖💖


	13. Everywhere

The last flashes of sunlight streamed through the trees, lighting the world with a hazy glow. Despite all that had happened, all that was still happening, he was at peace. He had lost the Throne, lost Asgard and found himself on a quest to save all of creation, knowing if he failed then everything that there was would cease to be. But for the moment, none of that mattered.

He closed his eyes, lost in the cool breeze that fluttered over his skin and the golden glow that washed over him. The sanctity and beauty of the abandoned city of the Vanir wasn’t what had him so relaxed, it was the soft laughter floating along the breeze. It was her.

Being King was what he had thought he wanted but every day he had spent on the Throne he realised it wasn’t what he wanted at all. What started as a small seed of unhappiness inside him had bloomed more and more every day, until barbed vines had tangled inside his chest; squeezing his heart and restricting his lungs. What use was glory if nobody knew it was him ruling Asgard, what use was power if he was alone? He had always wanted what came so easily to Thor, the admiration and the love of the people. He had taken the Throne, but not the people. He knew what was missing from his victory, but what he didn’t expect was to find what he was looking for as he lost everything else.

She had been soft, even for a mortal. Hovering around his brothers hammer with determination and mischief shining in her eyes, she reminded him of how he used to be before the anger and bitterness had grown inside him. Even when he had revealed himself and held his dagger at her throat, she didn’t hide her fear but neither did she let it consume her. Her sharp tongue and quick thinking almost gained his respect, more so than any other of her kind had gained from him. He had meant it when he said he would release her but then she had forced his hand and he feared she had backed him into a corner and he would have no choice but to kill her, something he had already decided he did not want to do. Thankfully he had seen the young spiderling swinging beneath them and had thrown her in his path. He had thought that was the end of it, that she would go about her life being a rare delight amongst mortals.

But she came back for him. Climbing the tower with ruthless determination and breezing easily past all the heroes so much stronger than her, she was the one who defeated him. Even through his anger he had trouble stopping himself laughing at her jubilation. She had been so proud of herself, and so she should have been. It was not the first time he had been beaten, but nobody had ever done it with such ease, in that she set herself apart from gods and heroes alike. Again though, he had thought that was the end of their interaction.

Then she had visited him, providing books and sustenance. Not since his mother had anyone shown him such consideration. Her kindness wasn’t simpering or borne of pity, her teasing showed that. And then it had happened, the moment she inadvertently bared her soul to him. He had seen her for what she was, standing on front of his cell alight with desire and determination, she shone brighter than any star. In her light he saw shades of himself, someone whose hunger perfectly matched his own.

It was a shame she had to die for defying him, for trapping him. It was with bitter regret that he cornered her in that lab, and when rivulets of blood trickled down her skin he had to swallow down the acrid taste of guilt. Her plea for mercy tugged at heartstrings he thought had been severed when he fell from the Bifrost. It wasn’t until she snarled her cutting insult in his face that he knew, without a shred of doubt, he could not harm her.

“Winnie!”

He bit down a smirk at the edge of frustration in your voice. He had thought your idea of playing ‘hide-and-seek’ with the Grofflink was a ridiculous notion, until he realised how much you despised loosing.

Something tugged at the bottom of his shirt and he opened his eyes to see the creature in question looking up at him, intelligent mischief sparkling in it’s brown eyes. He had known it would grown quickly under your care, he had not anticipated how quickly though. In the two days since he had taken you to Vanaheim the Grofflink had grown another several inches. For the first day and night, you had slept, curled under a pile of blankets with your companion. He had heard your squeaks of surprise when you finally awoke and he had rushed to your side, rolling his eyes when you held the Grofflink up to him and demanded to know if he was bigger.

“Winnie.” He greeted politely, shifting his legs so the Grofflink could take shelter behind them.

“Loki! Have you seen Winnie?” You demanded, skidding around the corner of the ancient stone building he was leaning against.

“Alas, I have not.” He said apologetically, laughing under his breath at your aggravated sigh as you threw your hands in the air exasperatedly and raced off towards the forest that surrounded the area.

As soon as you were out of sight he moved his leg, letting Winnie waddle into a patch of sunlight on the grass and settle down on it.

All that Thor had, he had wanted for himself. But that had never truly meant The Throne, for without everything else a Throne was just an cold chair. He had wanted respect, companionship, to be believed in. All the things you wanted as well. That’s what had drawn him to you, pulled in by your presence, gravitating towards you. You were alike in that way, but differed in so many others.

Where he was bitter, you were sweet. He would have never thought to rescue a small creature from a casino table, but you had done so without thinking. Truthfully, you did a lot of things without thinking. For all your intelligence, and that was no small measure, you let your emotion fuel your actions more than your wits. Far from find it a distasteful quality though, he appreciated it. It kept things interesting, kept them amusing. And as sweet and kind as you were, there was a sharp edge to you that he found just as beautiful as your softness. You would toss barbed jabs at him, hurling insults like knives; though since you had wrapped your arms around him on Taa, those insults were always followed with a teasing smile and sparkling eyes. He had been drawn to you because of the similarities between you, but unexpectedly found the answer to his desires. 

“That’s it, I give up! I can’t fine him… _anywhere_.” You slowed to a halt, staring at Winnie in disbelief before you turned your eyes to him, narrowing them suspiciously.

“You haven’t seen him huh?” You demanded with a most alluring pout.

“God of Mischief, my darling Vænn.” He smirked.

In this beautiful little mortal, he had found what had eluded him for so long, what he truly wanted most. Someone who respected him enough to never hold your punches, but cared enough to soften the blows with affection, someone who believed in him enough to unquestionably think he could be hero. In you he had found a friend.

You rolled your eyes at him, crossing the grass, reaching down to pick up Winnie who held out his arms as soon as he saw you approaching. He saw you eying a smooth slab of stone on the edge of the building and before you could plonk yourself down on the dusty surface he conjured his cloak and laid it down for you.

“Well aren’t you a regular Prince Charming?” You snickered, sprawling across the proffered seat and smiling up at him.

“Oh, here, I found these.” You announced excitedly, hopping to your feet again and emptying your pockets of the handfuls of berries you’d apparently uncovered during your brief excursion of the woods.

He quickly inspected them, ensuring they were safe before you could eat any. Thankfully, they were and he watched fondly as you offered one to Winnie.

“Want some?” You asked him, shoving a handful at him without waiting for an answer.

“Vænn…”

“Yes, Charming?” You asked sweetly.

He glossed over the affectionate nickname and summoned his seiðr, calling The Tesseract back from the pocket Dimension he’d safely stored it in. You glanced up at him in befuddlement when he held it out to you.

“I made you a promise Vænn, that when The Tesseract was under my control once again, I would take you home.” He said softly.

You had elicited the promise from him and he knew he should keep it. Had he his way, you would remain with him but he would not force you to do so.

“That’s not true though, is it? What you actually promised was to take me anywhere in the universe I wanted to go.” You reminded him gently.

“So it was.” He agreed, trying to stifle the flickering of hope in his heart before it became unbearable.

Hope was a dangerous thing, and you had served The Tesseracts purpose now. You had pointed him in the right direction, showed him how to save the universe. You could go home, something you had wanted since the moment you had left.

“So where do you want to go, Vænn?”

You cocked your head to the side, chewing on your lip as you considered it. And then you smiled, your eyes shining brightly as you looked up at him.

“Wherever you’re going, Charming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! A Loki POV! 
> 
> What are you feeling about how he's feeling? And how about that Loki/Winnie team up? Also, Looks like Princess has her Prince Charming! 😂😂😂😂

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, i'm really doing MMYM again... kinda. Different circumstances, different reader, different Loki, different plot... same basic beginning. 
> 
> I sorta think I can milk the hell out of this whole 'Loki kidnaps the reader' trope so I made it a series. Honestly, I am just desperate to write something fun and addicting again. 
> 
> So we are back to daily chapters (I hope). I hope you enjoy this at least half as much as you enjoyed MMYM. Please let me know whatcha think? Please?


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